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“I can’t… I was looking for them because of you. Was I delivering them to the Crimson Ring this entire time?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I really am. It happened a few days after my diagnosis. I was lost. I was beyond scared. It was a death sentence and one of the most painful ways to go. I had to bargain, had to make a deal.”
“What did you do?”
“I earned my life back. I found a purpose. I’m reborn again, and it feels fucking amazing.” She finally looked at me. Again, I couldn’t recognize the face that sat across from me. No matter how many memories I could recall with Amelia, this person—this monster—wasn’t her. “I went to the Center. I spoke with them. They put me in front of Kyler Irons, and I knew there was no turning back. He spoke with such conviction. Like he had all the answers I could ever possibly need… and more.
He said he could cure me if I brought the paintings to them. So I did. And he did. Kyler cured me, Maddox. And even more than that, he showed me what true love means. He cured my body and my soul. He made me fall in love with him. He promised that we’d get to watch the start of a new world together, all from the most beautiful stage imaginable. Maybe I made a mistake, maybe I fucked up. But the pain… it was too much.”
She started to laugh and cry at the same time, the sound coming out of her like slick from an oil spill. It poisoned the air. I felt my stomach flip, twist.
“Join us. Please. A dragon on the Crimson Ring’s side could change everything. It could prove I made the right choice. Please. Let me have my life and my best friend back.”
She leaned forward and reached for my hand. I yanked it back. My vision turned red, my anger being fed by the betrayal. A vicious cycle that threatened to make me lose all control. I could turn into a dragon now and rip her to shreds, tearing down this entire place in the process. I had that power. I could use it. I could make her feel the same kind of pain she inflicted on me.
“You really have lost it if you think I’d ever join that cult.” I had heard enough. This went much too far. I had lost Amelia the day she stepped into that Center; I just didn’t realize it until now.
I’d come to terms with that later, on my own time. I just knew I needed to get out of there before I blasted a hole through the wall.
Not only that, but I needed to leave and find Caleb. I had so much fucking explaining to do. I hoped he would understand.
Fuck.
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
This all felt futile. If the three paintings were united, then they must have had the location to the lock. “Were you happy? Finally seeing all the three paintings together?”
“I… yes. I was.” She looked out the window. Tears welled in her eyes. “There’s a balance in the swirls. A masterful sense of color. They’re mesmerizing together.”
“Swirls?”
“Yes, Moriarty somehow made three paintings of colorful swirls feel like three works crafted by the king Himself. It’s beautiful. You should come see them.”
Interesting. Maybe there was something else that needed to be done to activate the map inside of the paintings? If the Crimson Ring still hadn’t figured it out, then that meant there was still time for Caleb and I to steal the paintings back and destroy them for good.
“I’m done here. I hope you’re happy with your choices.”
I rose up from my chair, nearly knocking it over. Amelia’s betrayal cut deeper than any pain I’d ever experienced, but now I at least had a goal in mind, and that helped blunt the twisting stabs in my gut.
She called out for me again. I ignored her, walking out into the street and shifting. I was gone and in the air before she could spew anymore of her venom.
Chapter 27
Sign Here
Caleb
The warm water from the shower did nothing to wake me up. I faced it directly, the weak water pressure making it feel more like someone was taking a piss all over my face. Which was a pretty accurate metaphor for the way life had been treating me lately.
I had fucked up.
I had lost my brother. I had lost my parents. hell, I even lost my job.
Now, I had lost the man I loved.
There wasn’t much left to lose.
I turned off the shower and stood in the steam until the air started to get cold. I pulled the towel from the hook on the wall and dried off. Fog clouded the mirror, but I could still see the shadow from the beard I was beginning to grow. I wiped down the mirror and saw an exhausted boy looking back, his bookbag full of shirts and shorts still the only thing he had to his name. A thin ring of gold shone around my neck through the fog.
