Page 66 of The Heir
As the doorclunksshut, the ground vibrates beneath us. It's as if a freight train is passing by, or a particularly large truck revving its engine. Helena looks down at her feet, then back up at me. A crease forms between her brows.
"Did you feel that?" I ask, shifting my stance.
"Yeah—"
The loudest noise I've ever heard in my life rings out—I can feel it reverberate in my chest, and I drop to my knees. I think Helena is screaming something, but I can't hear her over the roar. I feel her fling her arm over my back, and we huddle together in the tiny hallway. Metal shrapnel flies—I think—something sharp and cold slices over my exposed skin. The vibrations feel closer to a violent earthquake. I try to push myself up, but Helena holds me down. I can't get my footing. The trembling of the earth below knocks me off-balance.
"What is that?" I screech to Helena, but I can't even hear myself. She shakes her head, pushing me down. She shields my head and neck with her arms. My ears ring, and I swallow hard, trying to clear them. I need to trysomething.Anything.
Helena slides her arm back as the noise fades. The earth stops shaking. Red and white lights flash from the ceiling while an alarm siren blares. I watch as Helena shakily gets to her feet, head on a swivel. She cups her hands around her eyes and peeks through the minuscule window on the steel door to the medical bay.
"What do you see? What's going on? Are they okay?" I babble, hoisting myself up.
"I can't—I can't see anything. Fuck!" She slams her fist on the door. "Open the fuck up! Let us in!"
"We can't get in?" Fuck! My hands shake and sweat—I can't see Dante. I press my face to the tiny window as well and kick the door when I see metal slats blocking our way. They look like the security things stores use after closing, but I don't give a fuck or shit. I body slam the door, slightly regretting it when pain lances through my shoulder. "No! Let us in—Dante! Melnyk! Where are you?"
The only thing that answers us is silence. Helena shakes with fury. Bone-chilling fear permeates every cell in my body. Dante is on the other side. Dante can't hear me. I can't get to him. I can't fucking get to him. I don't know if he's alive—and I swear to god, I'll tear everyone here to fuckingshredsif he's dead.
Dante's name pours from my lungs with desperation as I pound against the door. I punch it; I kick it; I slam my shoulder against it—anything. I need to get to my husband. But I fucking can't.
Another earsplitting roar breaks through the air—Helena forces me down again, huddling together. I don't know how, but it's even louder than the first one. The concrete walls of this godforsaken hallway tremble and crack. The steel joists groan and bend. Helena tries to force my head back down, but I can't stop looking. If we're about to die, I need to know what happens. I can't just blink out of existence.
"Whatisthat?!" I shriek over the din.
"I think we're being bombed!" Helena bellows.
Oh,fuck. Ella. She's here. Steeling myself, I force my way out of Helena's grasp and sprint to the other end of the hallway. Away from Dante. Away from Melnyk. I don't know if she's tracking me. Does she know where I am? Is she just raining fire down on us indiscriminately? I wouldn't put it past her. She'slongforsaken the Seraph guidelines Dante told me about. The same bloodthirsty rivalry over centuries, but the Seraph preferred to stay on the right side of the law.
I guess she got sick of that.
As I reach the other end of the hall, I yank on the doorknob, twisting and turning, screaming for help. There's no one on the other side. There's only the blaring siren and flashing lights. Shit—lockdown. And I'm trapped in a hallway that looks like it could collapse at any moment.
Hairline fractures creep up the concrete, disappearing behind the steel joists. The ground below revolts again, and I drop to my knees. The fracturesgrow. That horrific sound of steel groaning as it bends reverberates in my mind. And something—someone?—is pounding on the other side of the wall. Not the door. The wall. The wall that traps us, but keeps us safe from the elements… I hope.
"Melody," Helena gasps. "Please. Come back here. I don't… I don't know what's on the other side. Let me protect you."
"No!" I squawk, yanking on the door again. "That's the whole reason you're in this fucking mess—because ofme!"
"What?" Helena's voice sounds so hurt, so broken. "Honey, what?"
"Don't coddle me, Helena! If I never—if I had stayed totally professional, if we had never—if… if—Ella kidnapped us. Roman sent you to his fucked-up sister. If you had never met me? None of this would haveeverhappened!" Tears flow down my cheeks as I fight the unyielding door. "Hate me if you want to. I would."
"Jesus, Melody," Helena scoffs. "I don'thateyou—you didn't do this to me. You didn't kidnap me. You didn't force Roman into a years-long con."
"But I saw you!" I scream. "I saw the way you looked at me! I killed Forge, Helena. I did that. Hannah barely had to egg me on. She just… gave me the tools. I saw the way you looked at me."
She heaves a sigh, averting her eyes. Her nervous energy is evident in the way she fiddles with the door handle. "I don't hate you. I know you're… different. Hell, I'm no angel myself. It just… reminded me that you can be unpredictable. And honestly, Mel? I miss him. I know you didn't know him like I did. But I miss him. I missall of the guys. I missbeforethis shit with the Seraph. I miss taking you to the range, and I miss sketching random bullshit at your house. I don't hate you. I don't think you're a monster. I think you're terrifying, and I'm lucky to have you on my side."
The instant the words leave her mouth, relief floods through me—but another explosion rings out. Louder than the last, closer—the concrete crumbles, and my world goes dark.
Dante
When the first bomb hit, my pulse skyrocketed. Adrenaline flooded my veins, and I couldn't hear a word of what Melnyk said. I leaped from my chair and ran to the door, just as the security slats descended automatically. My knuckles are bloody and raw. My throat is scratchy and hoarse. The medical staff keeps trying to persuade me into their bomb shelter—because, ofcourse, The Eligos had a bomb shelter built into her med bay—but they can fuck right off.
My wife is out there. I have no idea if she's alive. I can't see her. I can't hear her. I can't fucking get to her.
I think I can hear her screaming, maybe Helena too—but she can't hear me. Not over the blaring sirens. And definitely not through the onslaught. The earth beneath my feet trembles and heaves, like it might buckle and suck me down to hell. Honestly, a world without Melodyishell. If Ella takes her from me—not just in some prison, not some underground bunker, butreallytakes her from me—I may follow her.
