Chapter 36
Kane stared down at Leila’s body. Her eyes were wide open, as though death had caught her by surprise.
He reached out with his mind—just in case—but sensed nothing but emptiness. She was gone. And she’d died knowing the Guardians had failed. They’d spent ten thousand years building up to this point. And all for nothing.
Crouching down, he ran his fingers over her eyes, closing them. Then he scooped his hands under her and straightened, holding her against his chest. She was a tall woman but felt almost fragile in death.
As he straightened, he caught sight of Kaitlin, leaning heavily on a stick, hobbling up the track toward him, her face scrunched up in pain. He hated seeing her hurt, but he couldn’t deal with her right now. His anguish was all-encompassing.
She came to a halt in front of him and looked up. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
She frowned. “She meant a lot to you. I know that. Why the hell shouldn’t I be sorry?”
She sounded pissed now. But then, it never took much.
As he made to move past her, her eyes narrowed; her nostrils flared. Yeah, she was definitely pissed. He remained silent because part of him knew that would annoy her the most, and the darkness inside him wanted that.
She tried to swivel as he passed, but her leg gave way under her, and she stumbled to the ground. He just stood, holding Leila’s body as she stared up at him. The anger drained from her face, replaced by sadness and loss.
It was his turn. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are.”
He hated to see her sad. Her anger, he could handle; sadness twisted his insides.
But right now, he couldn’t deal with those feelings on top of all the others.
It was too much. “Stay where you are. I’ll send the vehicle back for you.
” And he turned around and strode away, his mind closed…
though he doubted she was trying to get through to him.
She probably already regretted letting him in.
On the positive side, it was unlikely she would have to live with those regrets for long.
He had no doubt the Tel agents were going to set off the bomb and cause the cataclysm, and he doubted very much that they could do anything to stop it. They knew the “when,” but they didn’t know the “where.” Which meant it was over.
Ten thousand years and they’d failed.
The end of the world was coming.