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My voice was cut off; I couldn’t say it.
“Ms. Belladonna expired during the fight,” Mr. Potter supplied for me.
Ryder immediately stilled.
“Fuuuuck!” he yelled.
I silently cried as I saw his turmoil. His head was bent down, his breathing was erratic like he was trying to keep everything in. Ryder and my sister had always been close. I had been surprised when they started dating or should I say when my father allowed them to date. He broke it off with her even though I’m pretty sure he still loved her, making me wonder if he knew about everything.
“We are laying her to rest tonight,” I said, not knowing what else to do.
I laid a hand on his shoulder, feeling the guys stiffen behind me. I glared back at them not to make a scene.
“She always said she was going to die,” he said, looking up at me, heartbroken. “I always thought she was just being paranoid until recently when she told me everything. I loved your sister with every fiber of my being until she told me to let go of her, that she was a lost cause.”
My lip trembled, hating that she had to go through knowing when she was going to die.
“I didn’t know,” I said, hoping he knew.
“I know, she said you couldn’t know. Everything was barely in balance and if one thing threw it off, it would mean your death and the possibility that Caston would gain control of the Belladonnas.” He sounded tired. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to get back.”
“Where are Soren and Gray?” I asked, realizing they weren’t here.
“We ran into some complications, they had to stay behind,” he said, getting up and helping me up. “We weren’t able to get everything, but I got the most important thing.”
He pulled out a couple of vials of Oria and my heart stopped.
“Serena said this was the most important thing.” He dropped them in my hands and I couldn’t help but stare at them.
“Thank you!” I launched myself at him. I squeezed him tightly, hearing the guys growl, but I didn’t care.
“You guys need to cut the shit,” I said, still hugging Ryder.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I knew he was doing it just to be a dick. I let him go, finally taking a good look at him. Ryder looked exhausted, worried and his entire appearance looked run down.
“It looks like this was one of your hardest heists.”
He nodded. “You could say that, but it wasn’t just finding this, we found something else we weren’t prepared for.”
When he didn’t elaborate, I just nodded. Ryder and the guys always had their secrets. They ran a dangerous business, and they were the best.
“Since we’re laying Serena to rest, would you like to stay?”
“Yeah, but I can’t stay much longer than that.”
“Ok,” I said, grabbing his hand, walking him towards the back to where Mr. Potter said he had set Serena up.
Peeking behind me, all the guys were zeroed in on our hands. I rolled my eyes, but let go of his hand to hold the crook of his arm. Once we arrived at the spot Mr. Potter had set up, I wanted to be anywhere but here.
Serena had been laid down on wood, looking peaceful like she was sleeping. Mr. Potter dressed her in a beautiful gown with her hair splayed out decorated with flowers. In the palm of her hands, she held moon flowers.
I pushed my lips together to keep from crying as we walked up to her. The guys surrounded her with Mr. Potter at the front. He started talking, but all I could do was focus on Serena for the last time.
Mr. Potter walked up to her and laid a stone on her. Lucien was next with a flower. He whispered something I couldn’t hear. Aeon was next, laying a piece of parchment paper on her, also saying something I couldn’t hear. Zev left a satchel of something in her hands with the flowers.
“She’ll be safe with us,” he whispered.
They all looked at me expectantly, but the rush of emotions I felt at their tenderness had rendered me speechless. I didn’t know what they had given her, but I grabbed the stone we had used to communicate with and wrapped it around her neck.
