Frailty: The Darkshine(57)

“Oh, Gaijryc, I would love that so very much.” She smiled at him again, a single tear escaping her eye.

Joy burst through his chest, happiness he had never experienced taking the sorrow’s place. He brought his wrist to his mouth, waiting for the right moment.

“Oh, how I would love to stay with you, but how can I when my sister would be alone? How can I leave her now that I know she waits for me? I love you.” She smiled once again, causing his chest to ache. “I remember the little red heart now. Lizzy had a shirt just like it.”

He didn’t know what she spoke of, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that it didn’t end like this. Her voice grew more distant as she spoke, her eyes becoming unfocused as she stared past him. It couldn’t end like this, his love dying in his arms and her blood coating his hands. Her eyes closed, a small smile covering her lips once more as the last breath escaped her. Gaijryc roared out so loudly the very leaves on the trees seemed to shake. He pulled her closer, curling his shoulders forward. Rage was a slow manifestation inside of him.

He looked down into her pale, beautiful face. Her long lashes cast shadows across her cheeks. He ran his finger across her lips, her skin feeling icy and lifeless. He clenched his other hand, wanting to tear something to shreds. He could have stayed there for eternity, just holding her. He might have sat there for hours, wouldn’t have even thought twice about it if not for the rustling behind him and the gentle hand on his shoulder. He bent down, giving her lips a gentle kiss before rising. She was light, too light in his arms as he turned and walked toward Ryce.

He stood next to Ryce and looked down at the broken body lying mere feet away. It was Lucie, the soft-spoken servant he had watched grow into a woman. Her face was slashed in more places than not—her white gown ripped to pieces. Her small hands sprawled out to the sides with her brightly painted red nails shining under the moonlight. The side of her neck gaped open, like an animal had attacked her and feasted on her blood. All of those things weren’t even the most surprisingly gruesome of her injuries.

Lucie heart had been removed, the hole in her chest enormous, the blood that stained her white dress like red ink on a crisp piece of paper. Gaijryc spotted the heart off to the side, the organ still beating as blood sprayed out from the torn vessels.

“Who did this, Ryce?” Gaijryc didn’t look up as he spoke, just stared at the crumbled, ruined body of the servant that he had known since she was a child.

“I did.” The female that spoke stepped out from behind a large oak tree, her dark dress blending in with the shadows. Her eyes were cast downward, her focus completely on Helina. Her face was filled with sorrow, the reflection of tears shinning in them. She drew her attention back to him, a sad smile curing her lips. Her hair was the color of night—curls moving against her shoulders. Her eyes were a lovely hazel, the same beautiful color as Helina’s. He looked down and noticed the blood that coated her hands and arms and snaked up to her face.

He looked down at his love again, her dark hair sprinkled across her pale face. It was a stark contrast, her beauty even apparent in death. “Who are you?” He spoke the words softly, keeping his attention on Helina.

“You’re holding her sister.”

He looked from Ryce to the female. “How is that possible? I thought you killed her?”

“I didn’t kill her, obviously. She wasn’t ready to die, and she knew that I could make it so she didn’t.” Ryce’s spoke softly, his voice distant from any emotion.

“I love my sister. You can save her.”

He looked at Helina’s sister. Tears fell from her eyes, making steaks of sadness down her face. Her hands were clenched in front of her, as if she tried to hold some semblance of control.

“If you don’t save her, I will.”

He looked into her eyes, eyes that were so haunted with grief it broke his heart. He pulled Helina closer, her form so small and insignificant in weight. “It isn’t what she wants.”

“It doesn’t matter. She will grow to understand, to accept it. Can you live your life knowing you let her die? Knowing that there was a way to save her? I know I can’t.”

She was right. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he could have done something. His heart battled over his mind, wanting to keep Helina with him for always. His attention went to the broken body of Lucie on the ground. She looked ruined, crumpled under her white gown stained red. “She didn’t want me to change her because she thought you were dead—she didn’t want you to be alone.”