Chapter Fifty-One
My eyes are red and sore, not just from the endless tears I have lost, but also from the dark clouds of smoke that seep into the room, making their way through the building.
The smoke chokes me and makes me cough whilst I sob into Ryder’s cold chest. I know the air will become thicker, and I probably should be getting out of here, but I can’t bring myself to leave him.
“Asha? There you are.” A familiar voice calls out to me. “Come on, this place is about to blow.”
I ignore it. I can’t imagine my life without him. I won’t. I can’t leave him.
“Asha, come on.”
A strong pair of arms takes hold of me and pulls me to my feet.
“What are you doing here, River?” I ask, my voice filled with pain and sorrow. His face is hazy through the smoke, and he is breathing into his shirt to protect himself from the fumes.
“They had me in a cell, but the door broke in some sort of explosion. The rest of the Moons are okay, they’re out. I came back for you,” he says before putting his shirt back up over his mouth and nose.
“Come on.” His arms wrap around me again as he tries to pull me away.
“No, I won’t leave him!” I fight the grip, but it stays firmly on me. “LET ME GO!” I shout in a furious rage. “I won’t leave him.”
Just like that, I crumble all over again and rush to Ryder’s lifeless body, sobbing into his chest while he lay motionless.
“He killed himself to save me.” My breath hitches as the words fall out of me with guilt and regret.
River’s footsteps slow behind me as a long sigh escapes his mouth.
“I’ll carry him out of here.” His voice cracks as he speaks, crouching down to Ryder’s level, picking him up and loading him over his shoulder fireman style. “And I really was starting to like you.”
He sighs with regret as Ryder’s body hangs limp in his arms, and I swear I see a small tear roll down his cheek. “Come on.”
The three of us exit the room. River groans slightly under the weight of Ryder but carries him, nevertheless.
Smoke fills the hallway in a grey and orange haze.
Embers rise and fall slowly through the air like fireflies.
Through all my sorrow, I made sure to pick up the box and bring it with me.
With this evidence, I can make sure nothing like this ever happens again. River is slightly ahead of me.
“Watch your step,” he shouts over the whir and buzzing of failing machinery.
We step over an assault course of debris, broken glass and dead soldiers.
I cringe at the destruction I have caused.
I didn’t mean for any of this. The elevator doors hang ajar, revealing a black abyss within.
Cables dangle like severed veins, and the air reeks of burnt metal.
“We have to use the stairs.” River adjusts his grip on Ryder before leading the way.
The stairwell is a concrete tomb; the air is heavy and stagnant.
Each step is an agonising symphony of River’s laboured breaths as Ryder’s weight bears down on him.
His head hangs and bobs with every step River takes, and his lifeless eyes stare blankly at me as I climb slowly behind.
I stare back at him, my eyes also devoid of life.
A life without him. I fight the tears as they roll down my cheeks and focus on the climb.
Only two more flights to go. The self-destruct alarm is more erratic now, and I know we haven’t got long until we become rubble and dust.
With each floor, the heat intensifies, a suffocating blanket that clings to our skin.
Cracks spiderweb across the walls and dust rains down from the ceiling, a grim premonition of what’s to come.
We groan with the building around us, a declaration that we are both on our last legs.
River pauses for a moment, readjusts Ryder and continues, the sweat on his skin a sheen of determination.
Finally, we burst through the exit doors, collapsing onto the gravel outside.
River gently lowers Ryder to the ground, his arms trembling with exhaustion.
I help him now, taking one of Ryder’s arms while he takes the other, pulling him to try to get a safe distance away from the mountain.
My lungs feel like they are burning, my heart is pounding obnoxiously, and the box is digging into my rib cage.
Suddenly, a deafening roar rips through the air.
The mountain shudders and then erupts in a cataclysmic explosion of fire and debris.
River’s eyes meet mine as a shockwave slams into us, sending us sprawling across the gravel path.
I shield my face as the heat sears my skin.
The echoes of the explosion ring in my ears.
The world regains focus, my vision slowly adjusting to the smoky haze hanging in the air.
I lay on the gravel, the stones scratching the back of my head as I gasp for air.
River and Ryder lie a few feet away from me, bathed in an ethereal, otherworldly glow.
I rub my eyes. I must be delirious. I stumble closer.
A swirling vortex of purple energy crackles between them, binding them together in an incandescent embrace, their eyes both wide with the same violet light.
The energy snakes and intertwines, connecting them as one, warping around them and enveloping them in its arms.
It can’t be.
A memory surfaces, a half-forgotten passage from a book I skimmed through when I was in the archives. A page I barely read enough of to warrant any significance.
The purple light intensifies, drawing my gaze. It pulses with raw power, a tangible force that hums in the air.
I’d never thought about it before, the stories they told me about their childhoods; both bounced around orphanages, both parents sentenced to death for their crimes.
Their bodies seamlessly defy gravity as they float upright and parallel to one another. The power vibrates off them, zinging the hairs on my arms as I watch in awe.
I never quite realised the significance when we were in Astra Nova, and Ryder’s arm ebbed with a purple glow only when he touched River.
A jolt of energy surges through me, a shockwave that awakens my senses. I watch transfixed as the purple glow begins to fade, receding from River and concentrating solely on Ryder. His eyes burn brighter, his body radiating warmth.
‘When in proximity, a surviving twin can transfer energy to the dying twin to keep them alive.’
“Twins…” I speak into the atmosphere in disbelief, my eyes not quite believing what I am seeing. One born at night and one at sunrise. “They’re twins.”
A final surge of light envelopes them, then almost as quickly as it began, it’s over. The purple light vanishes, settling their bodies gently onto the gravel.
Ryder gasps a raw, deep breath, and his eyes flutter open.
My heart pounds so loudly in my chest that I feel like I might explode.
His eyes find mine, a spark of life returning to their depths.
He looks around with confusion etched on his face as he takes in his surroundings - the wreckage, the lingering smoke, and me staring back at him in disbelief.
A sob escapes my lips, tears of relief and joy stream down my face as I scramble towards him, my legs shaky and unsteady.
“Ryder.” I rub my eyes to make sure they are not deceiving me. “You’re alive.”
He blinks, his gaze focusing on me. “Asha? What happened?” he asks, his voice raspy and hoarse.
“You’re here,” I choke out, my voice thick with tears, examining his eyes for any hint of the serum still in his veins. “You’re really here.”
Ryder’s brow furrows, and I can tell he is trying to make sense of the situation. His hands intertwine with mine, and my heart sings again. “I don’t understand,” he says, his voice filled with confusion. “I thought… I thought I was gone.”
I cup his face in my hands, my thumbs gently wiping away the grime and blood. “You were,” I say, my voice trembling. “But you’re back now. You’re back.”
He stares back at me, his eyes a thick caramel.
A wave of emotion washes over Ryder’s face - disbelief, relief and a profound sense of gratitude. He reaches out, pulling me into a tight embrace.
“I love you,” he whispers, his voice thick with emotion. The winter is finally over, the ice around his heart has truly thawed, and I am there to hold it with both hands.
I cling to him, burying my face in his neck.
“I love you too,” I sob, tears soaking into his shirt. “I thought I’d lost you.”
As he holds me in his arms, the world suddenly feels right again. The wreckage, the smoke, the pain - none of it matters. All that matters is that Ryder is alive and back in my arms.
“But it still doesn’t make sense, Asha. How am I back?” he asks, a little more lucid now.
“It seems you and River are kind of…connected,” I say, my voice unsure of how he is going to react.
“What do you mean, connected?” Ryder asks, his eyebrows furrowing further.
“Twins,” I say, evidently. “He brought you back, some kind of energy transfer,” I continue. “When one twin is dying, the surviving twin can-”
“Yeah… I know the lore,” he interrupts. “But that is only the case when a twin is dying, not completely dead.” His voice trembles a little. “And I was completely dead, Asha. I saw my God and everything.”
I sit perplexed for a minute, just staring back at him, trying to understand what had just happened.
“The explosion must’ve jump-started your heart, only for a second, but in that moment you were both touching. That’s got to be it,” I think out loud. “You’re twins, Ryder! You and River are twins.”
“We’re what?!” River grumbles, sitting up and scratching the back of his head. But all I can do is squeeze him and thank him for bringing Ryder back.