63
“Dad!” I scream. “Daaaaad!”
I stumble toward the tank, peering up, trying to get a better look at his face.
This has to be a mistake.
The glass and water distort everyone’s features a little bit, but no, I’m sure it’s him.
My heart batters behind my ribs, and my breath turns to mud.
Of course. It makes sense.
I saw her take him that night. It should have occurred to me the moment we walked into this room.
She looked me in the eye and told me she tried to help him.
But she fucking lied about that, too.
“Raine,” I whisper, pressing my hand to the glass. “Raine, no.”
My father appears at my side, and I watch his face as he registers who is in this tank. The brother I loved with my entire heart.
Color drains from my father’s cheeks as his expression transforms. I’ve always assumed my father doesn’t feel very much. He’s never worn his emotions. He’s always been a blank wall. Just coldness I could never penetrate, and I stopped trying a long time ago.
I don’t know what shifted in the last few months, but something has changed.
My father has always been a mystery to me, but in this moment, I feel his heart break.
I see the second it cracks, written in the lines around his eyes and mouth.
The shattering of something delicate that he might have been trying to protect.
The reminder that even the worst monsters have a heart.
“My boy,” he says softly, laying his hand next to mine.
He drops his head, his hair falling, shoulders shaking. I watch as a tear slips off his nose and hits the concrete floor, leaving a dark spot.
I didn’t know my father could actually cry.
I’m not sure why realizing that makes the inside of my chest ache.
His lips are moving, but I can’t hear what he’s saying.
I’m sorry, maybe, but I can’t be sure.
What specifically is he apologizing for? He has so much to account for.
It takes him a moment to look up. He peers at me, and we watch each other.
Henry, Navy, Justin, and even Rook have made their way over.
I turn to Henry, who approaches.
He’s blinking rapidly, trying to hold back a flood of tears.
I take his hand and squeeze it.
“Raine,” he says with a quiver in his voice. “I . . . miss you every day.”
The three of us stand together, forced to come to terms with the truth. Finally. After years of wondering. All this time, he was right here, while Rook and his people took the blame for his death.
“Can we get him out?” I ask, already knowing it’s hopeless.
“He’s been in there for years,” my father says softly. “You remember what Dr. Mowry said. He’s effectively . . . no longer of this world.”
“But we could try!” I say, suddenly verging on frantic. This has all been too much. I want him back. I want to hug my brother one more time. “He can feel it! He’s endured this for years! Find something to break it! We need to try!”
I’m sobbing now, tears coating my face, my heart whipping so hard I think I might faint.
“Poet.” My father reaches for me, but I step back, throwing his hand off with a snarl.
It’s involuntary. Instinctual. A reaction born of a lifetime of pain.
Does he think anything has changed between us?
I witness another break in his features.
The understanding that dawns on him. He cannot comfort me right now. Whatever truce we’ve found these past weeks cannot erase our history.
We are forever broken.
Warm arms circle around me instead, drawing me against a body I’ve come to know as well as my own.
The smell of the wind and the crisp freshness of green apples.
Rook hugs me so tightly that it begins to calm my racing pulse.
This is my safe place. The man to whom I’ve given my trust.
He whispers softly in my ear. He reminds me how much my brother loved me and that he’d want me to live my life. That he’d want me to move on.
“I want him back,” I sob. “I miss him so much.”
He cups my cheeks in his hands and kisses away my tears. “I know. I wish I could bring him back for you, but I promise that he’s so damn proud of you, Poet. It’s time to let him go.”
I nod, though I hate it.
I look at Henry, and the expression on his face tells me he doesn’t like the idea of leaving Raine here, either.
A loud bang from the hall has us all looking over.
Shouts. Shots fired. They’re coming this way. Did Sol’s Guards overpower the Fog?
“We need to get out of here,” Fisher says from where he and Calliope have been giving us all some space.
“Have you found a way to shut this down?” Rook asks his brother, who’s standing at a nearby control panel.
“I’m working on it!” Justin calls. “Edward’s guiding me through it.”
“Do you have enough footage?” my father asks me.
“I think so,” I say, wiping my cheeks.
Henry, my father, and I all watch at Raine for another second.
I step toward his tank, and I touch my fingers to my lips before pressing them to the glass.
“I love you,” I say. “Know that I live every day trying to be as brave and strong as you. I wish you’d told me what you were going through so we could have faced it together.”
Henry bows his head. “I’ll never forget you,” he whispers. “Thank you for the brief happiness we had.”
Then my father steps forward, his jaw hard.
“I’ll make them pay for this,” he says.
Henry and I stare at him, not sure what to say.
But we’re out of time because more shouts are coming this way.
“Let’s go,” my father says.
We turn around and head for the exit.
Justin is still busy with the control panel while he confers with Edward over his headpiece. I can hear Edward giving him instructions on how to disconnect the system.
Justin fiddles with some buttons and knobs, but nothing seems to be working.
Shots ring out in the distance, and we can’t be sure which side they’re coming from. We need to move.
“This is taking too long!” Rook growls. “Shut this down.”
He walks over, grips a bunch of wires in his large hand, and pulls.
A moment later, the humming in the room cuts off, and New Manhattan is plunged into complete and total darkness.