Even though she probably can’t hear me over the sound of the blades, she relaxes. Twisting in her chair, she leans her head against my shoulder. Her touch sends electricity through me, reminding me that there is a lot we have left unsaid. Feelings we have yet to explore.
There is so much to say. So much to do. In many ways, today feels like a beginning.
I told her I loved her, and she didn’t reject me. I have no idea how anything will ever work for us. If we will even work. If anything, the last few days in the Gates of Hell have shown me how out of my league I am with this incredible female.
But I’ll remain by her side as long as she’ll have me. I’ll wait as long as she needs until she is ready for me to show her just how beautiful she is. How fierce she is. I’ll wait until she’s ready for me to show her how she makes me feel. The irony of the entire situation is that while I thought I was giving up my life to save her, she was saving me.
She saves me with every breath she takes, every smirk that dances on those luscious lips, and every silent laugh.
When we are alone, I will show her. I will brush my lips down every inch of her incredible skin until she shu—
“I have eyes on the wreckage, Your Majesty,” the pilot’s voice crackles over the headset. The Were’s voice is garbled as it reaches my ears.
The words break me out of my trance. I lean forward, trying to see out of the blackened windows of the chopper.
What I see takes my breath away. My heart seizes in my chest as everything seems to slow.
The once-blue waters are full of churning grays and greens. Wood and other debris burns above the water as crates bob along the waves. Broken wood and metal are strewn about as bodies litter the water between them.
Bile rises in my throat, and my stomach turns as I spot something familiar in the water. “Can you bring us closer?” I whisper. My voice is weak, but the pilot hears me.
He nods, and the chopper lowers. My eyes catch on the painted words floating in the water.
LACK ROS
A numbness spreads through me as I stare at those white letters for so long that they merge in my mind. It’s not possible. I signed the ship over. I sent them away for their safety. The Consortium promised to deliver the paperwork the second I walked out of the building. We paid our dues to the League.
I dideverythingI could.
My eyes scan through the waters, seeking any sign of life. I run my eyes over one lifeless body, then another, and another. My chest tightens as the faces of my crew run before my eyes. My vision blurs, and I run my hand over my face. Dampness coats my prosthetic as hopelessness, deep and sorrowful, begins to take root.
Everyone in the chopper is silent. It is a heavy weight to bear, the realization that amidst so much death, we have survived.
All I feel is guilt. Heavy, weighty, soul-crushing guilt.
Five, then ten minutes pass as we continue to circle the wreckage. Just as we are about to leave, I see something in the churning waters. “Wait,” I gasp, pressing my face against the glass. “Look. We need to get down there.”
The King of the Angels glances back at me. His large wings are folded behind him, and I just know that touching them would likely set the Angel off.
Which isnotsomething I want to do. Not when I need his help.
“Everyone down there is as good as dead,” he says. “We can better apply our resources elsewhere.”
“Bullshit,” I spit out. “You can’t offer to take us this far, then make us turn around. I won’t stand for it. Ineedyou to land.”
The King of the Angels holds my stare for a minute, but I don’t back down. I won’t. Not now. Not for my crew. Eventually, he sighs. “Fine. Ten minutes. Then we turn around."
"Thank you."
* * *
Thank the gods,the chopper lands on the water a few minutes later. When the pilot gives me the okay, I unbuckle my seat belt. I draw in a long breath before flinging the door open. Helena glances at me, her eyes wide as she squeezes my hand.I'm right here.
Nodding, I take in my surroundings. The chopper has brought us as close as possible, but thirty feet are still between me and the body I saw from above.
Without thinking, I pull off my shirt before leaving my pants and shoes in a pile. Wearing nothing but my boxers, I take one last look at Helena and dive into the water.
Cold.