Chapter 48 - The Love that Was
Kristyon
“I’m tired of waiting. You! Come here.”
I cannot avert my eyes from the screen as Roden points his finger at one of the many Harvesters, beckoning towards him.
My hand is in July’s. Her fingers tighten around mine while we all watch in silence the poor bastard tottering towards the barrier, while Evelyn tries to pull him back, only to be thrown to the side by a single, swift swipe of Roden’s hand.
Tabitha whimpers, towering behind me.
“He’s going to die,” Mack voices our fears. “I could lower the voltage; he will probably pass out for a few hours.”
“Do that and you’ll doom us all.”
“But, Lily, he won’t stop until the fences are down, and I promise you, it will take twice the number of Harvesters out there to slightly damage the barrier.”
“She’s right, this is what Roden wants. He’s counting on us not letting people get hurt.
What he doesn’t understand is that he’s buying us time.
” Tabitha takes a big breath, splaying her fingers over the control panel while, on the monitor, the Harvester nods at Roden and hurls himself against the invisible fence.
The impact releases so much electricity that all the monitors go black for a few seconds, leaving us in complete darkness if not for the light still pouring in from the door.
I blink to adjust my view and pull July into my arms without thinking.
The idea of being separated from her once again hurts more than ever.
She won’t forget me this time, but I can’t ignore what Tabitha said about the danger of having our souls - in their entirety - under the same roof.
July’s delicate hands desperately cling onto my shirt, and she presses her cheek against my chest. I dip my fingers in her hair, brushing her head with my lips and inhaling her scent.
A moment stolen from the darkness. A memory we’ll both carry and protect as if our last.
“What happened?” Lucretia whispers.
“Give me some space,” Mack demands.
I’ve never heard him so alarmed, as he shoves us away and starts fidgeting with the panel’s many switches and buttons.
We break our embrace, but don’t stop holding each other’s hands.
“The impact was so harsh that it has activated my second-level defence protocol.”
“Meaning?” Lily asks, surprisingly calm.
Mack turns to face us all, his head dipped, eyes fixed on his fingers as he nervously twists them. “That either we abandon the building within the next hour, or remain stuck here for days. I’ve programmed a stronger security response, but I thought we would never have to use it.”
“Well, that wasn’t our plan anyway.” Nik intervenes, approaching Mack and landing a hand on his shoulder. “Can you turn the screens back up? Before venturing out there, we need to know what the rest of the perimeter looks like.”
“It’ll probably take me a few minutes. This has never happened before—”
“Great! I’ll gather all the weapons I can find and gear up,” Merya exclaims, already on her way to the door.
“You are not going anywhere,” Tabitha grabs her by her right arm.
“I need you to visit Brenath and all the villages still on our side. Our resources in The Mother won’t be enough if what we’ve witnessed today is only a small part of Roden’s army.
He’s been preparing for a very long time…
And I need you to keep Sable safe. She’s in the tunnels now… ”
Merya shakes her arm free, curling her hands into fists at her sides. “You can’t be serious. I’m one of your best fighters.”
“Exactly, and one I can trust to be my voice and my eyes while I try to delay Roden for as long as possible.”
“I’m not a diplomat,” Merya’s voice quivers.
Tabitha crosses her arms, nodding towards me, then Mack. “That’s why you’re taking them with you.”
July lets go of my hand to move closer to Tabs and Merya as my fingers close around a dreadful void that chills my blood.
“I can take care of myself. Send Lucretia and Galen to The Mother. But, please, don’t take him away from me again—” She bites her words, her eyes widen when she glances at Galen, who’s come back to his senses and is slowly pushing himself up using a wall.
Her plea pierces my heart. But it hurts even more seeing my brother pretending his heart is not shattered into pieces, as he averts his gaze to look at his bloody bandage.
“I’m sorry, July. Sometimes, we need to do what’s best for the many. Your soul will heal…” Tabitha mutters.
“You don’t understand. I need—” July lunges forward, her voice breaking.
Tabitha moves aside to avoid July’s desperation. The room freezes, full of her cry as her hands grab only air, and she drops onto her knees, her back shaking with each violent sob.
I survey the room, locking eyes with Galen. He immediately reads my worry, then nods at Nik. They move in unison and gingerly help July up, holding her still should she try again to hit Tabs again.
My heart aches with the need to run to her and hold her in my arms, but if I get close enough to her dark hair, to smell her skin, I will never be able to let her go again.
“Tell them this is not right. We’ll find another way…” July starts kicking and jerking her head back, searching for me.
A hand hooks my right shoulder, trying to turn me away, but I swat it away. If she’s in pain, I want to feel the same. If I do not see her again, I don’t want to waste our last moments together looking the other way. She needs to know I’m suffering because…
“I—” My words burst into nothing as Galen and Nik move towards the door. My legs burn with the need to go after them while July sobs, imploring me to hold her again, to hide her from everyone. My eyes sting like the palms of my hands, where my nails are digging, drawing blood.
“Kris, please…” She steals one last look at me. “I can’t lose you again…please.”
I will never lose you again. She can’t remember this yet, but those were the words she screamed last time we had to say goodbye.
The same hand reaches for me again.
“You know that’s for the best…” Mack warns me.
It is, but there is no reasoning when I’m around her, and I don’t want her to treasure this memory as our last.
I shove Mack out of the way, ignoring his and Merya’s curse as someone - probably Mack - collides with the control panel, and I charge towards the door.
“Oh, for soul’s sake, do not complicate things.” I hear Lily complaining as I rush past her.
Alerted by Lily, Nikrah momentarily abandons July’s side and stomps towards me. I can feel the blood pumping beneath my skin when I skid to a halt inches from him.
“Let me pass,” I growl.
“You practically begged us to take her away,” he opens his arms, with an idiotic smile on his face.
“And now I command you to step aside—”
“It’s okay, Nik. He only needs a few moments,” Tabitha sighs, surprisingly understanding.
“We don’t have a few—alright, fine. Fine!” Nik stumbles back, raising his hands, when I shove him out of the way.
With two steps, I’m behind July, unable to speak, to breathe, while Galen carefully loosens his grip on her arm and walks away. He gives me a look that chills the blood in my veins, before putting the metal door between us, a barrier dividing him from me and the woman Roden forced him to love.
She slowly turns around.
I don’t care if everyone’s watching. Roden can teleport into the room, and I would still not give a fuck about anyone but her.
“I remembered…earlier on, by the lake,” she says softly, inhaling deeply to push the tears back, as I gently take her face in my hands. “All those times they took me away from you, I never had the chance to tell you…”
I dip my head and steal her words from her mouth with mine so they can only linger between us.
“I loved you. Every time we met, I couldn’t help it…” she whispers onto my lips before looping her arms around my neck, making the whole world disappear.
As if resonating with each other, our souls thrum in unison, trying to free themselves from our bodies and melt into one.
I’ve kissed her many times, yet today is like our first. I can’t have enough of her hair through my fingers, her teeth gently playing with my lips, my tongue hungry to rediscover every inch of her mouth.
Unexpectedly, she breaks the spell, gently pushing me away, pressing her hands against my chest. “I loved you…” Her eyes narrow moments before the ground starts shaking.