Chapter 191: The end of the man (i)
"Willow..."
Alistair’s voice echoed through the corridors, his eyes darted left and right.
"Willow?"
His voice was louder this time, his heart pounding in his chest.
Was she hurt? Why wasn’t she answering?
"Alistair?"
He spun around as Willow slowly emerged from where she had been hiding.
She had been crouched behind a stone wall, waiting for the fighting to die down.
"Alistair." She ran toward him and flew into his arms, the impact nearly knocking him backward.
"Oh, goddess..."
He held her tightly, burying his face against her hair.
"Are you okay?" he asked, stroking her back.
"I am fine." Willow nodded against his chest then she pulled back enough to look at him.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yes." He smiled at her. "Yes, I am."
Her eyes moved over his face.
"You did it." She beamed at him. "You warned them and brought them here."
"You sound surprised that I would want to help."
"No." Willow shook her head quickly. "I just...he is your brother and I thought that maybe you would..."
"Lucius had done enough." Alistair said quietly. "I won’t let him continue to run the pack into the ground."
Willow reached for his hand.
"So what now?" She asked. "It is all over?"
Alistair squeezed her hand.
"Come. We should meet with the others outside."
He turned to lead the way.
"Wait." Willow stopped him, her hand catching his wrist.
Before he could ask what was wrong, she stepped into his space and kissed him.
Alistair froze for a heartbeat, then he groaned, his hands sliding up to cup her face, pulling her deeper into the kiss.
He tasted the salt of her tears and the sweetness of her breath, the world around them dissolving until there was nothing but the heat of her skin and the frantic beat of her heart against his.
When they finally pulled away, they were both breathless.
Alistair looked at her, his eyes shiny.
"What was that for?" He asked softly.
Willow smiled. "New beginnings."
...
"Did you know?" Ares whirled on Alistair the moment he stepped into the courtyard.
Alistair’s smile vanished immediately.
"Know what?"
"The cave! We cannot get in," Ares spat, his voice rising. "Did you bring us here to win a war against your brother just so you could take the throne for yourself? Was this all a game to you?"
"He could not have known." Amara cut in. "Lucius told no one about the cave except me and only because he needed my help to make everything perfect. Alistair was never part of that secret."
"I will bring it down on him," Ares swore, his voice a low growl.
"And you will kill Ayla too," Amara countered. "He knows this."
Cassian stepped forward, his expression grim. "Surely you can break it. You cast the spell, you must know how to remove it."
Amara shook her head. "I was a different woman when I cast that spell. I was more powerful then, and I was fueled by a specific kind of anger. Even if I could find a loophole, I would need time and strength and both are in very short supply."
Damon, who had been silent, narrowed his eyes.
"Can that cave lead outside the palace walls?"
"That I do not know but Lucius built this palace around that cave and he is a smart man so I would like to believe it can."
Ares turned to his men. "Surround the palace now! Block every exit!" He turned back to Amara, his eyes hard. "Take us to the cave."
...
Lucius did not answer her immediately. He stood a few feet away, his gaze inside the cave, like he was fighting a battle inside himself that she could not possibly understand.
She could feel the grief radiating off him in waves, a far cry from who he had been moments ago.
Ayla followed his gaze until her eyes happened upon what he was staring at.
She took slow steps toward it.
Lucius did not stop her, he did not even move. He just stood there, his eyes wide, his lips trembling in a way that made him look fragile, almost human.
It was a glass box resting on an elevated stone platform and when Ayla peered into it, a gasp escaped her lips.
Inside the box was a child... a girl.
She appeared to be sleeping, her small hands folded over her chest. Her cheeks were sunken, the skin pulled tight over her cheekbones, and her lips were tinged blue. Blonde curls framed her face, though they grew in patches, as if they had been ripped from her scalp.
She would have been so beautiful, Ayla thought.
Ayla turned slowly.
"Who is this?" She asked. "What is this place and who is that little girl?"
"My daughter," Lucius finally whispered, his voice was small and hollow. "Elysia."
Ayla stared at him in shock.
He had a daughter?
"What happened to her?"
"Are you blind!" Lucius suddenly spat, the rage returning in a flash of lightning.
"She is dead!" He snapped.
Ayla did not back away.
She could see the vulnerability beneath the anger, the way his shoulders shook. She knew that if she could keep him talking, if she could draw him out, she might find a way to escape.
"I am so sorry," she said gently. "How did she die?"
Lucius sighed. "A sickness... it came and it took her."
"And this place?" She glanced around. "It was hers?"
"Yes." Lucius nodded, looking down at his feet.
He was no longer pointing the knife at her.
In fact, he seemed to have forgotten she was a prisoner. He was lost in his own world of sorrow, a man haunting his own memories.
Ayla saw her chance and so she began to inch forward, moving slowly toward the entrance of the cave.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
If she could just make it to the threshold, if she could run fast enough... could she outrun him?
"I am sorry about your daughter, Lucius," she said to keep him talking and distracted.
"She could have been saved," Lucius muttered.
He looked up at her, and Ayla was slapped by the sudden, violent rage in his eyes. The grief hadn’t vanished, it had simply transformed back into hate.
"If you had been there, she would have been saved... if the world had the Omega Dualis like it was supposed to, then my daughter would be alive!"
Ayla froze, the realization hit her like a physical blow.
This was why he had been so obsessed with her. This was why he had lied, kidnapped, and manipulated her. He was trying to replace a dead child with a living weapon.
"Lucius!" A shout echoed through the cave.
Ayla’s heart very nearly exploded in her chest.
She knew that voice.
Ares.
Without thought, she spun around and dashed out of the cave.
Lucius followed in hot pursuit.
"Over here!" she screamed, reaching the edge of the low cliff.
Ayla did not make it down before a hand closed around her waist yanking her backwards into the cave.
She stilled instantly when she felt the cold edge of the knife press once again against the skin of her throat.
"Make another sound..." he hissed against her ear. "And I will slit your throat."