46

The standoff stretched on forever. Dominic and Analia stood frozen in place, locked in some unspoken battle, their eyes speaking words that their mouths never could. The air between them felt thick and suffocating, so heavy it was hard to breathe. Outside, the rain had softened to a quiet patter against the roof, the sound oddly distant, as if it was happening in another world entirely.

I couldn’t stop looking at Clarice. Her body lay crumpled in the middle of the cabin, lifeless and still. I didn’t even know her, but that didn’t matter. She was somebody’s mother, somebody’s wife—someone who had a life and people who were waiting for her to come home. My chest ached, a hollow, gnawing pain. Now, she was just… gone. Just like that.

Tears blurred my vision, and my head throbbed with the kind of pain that came from something more than physical. My temples pulsed in time with my pounding heart. I should’ve done something. I had a gun. I could’ve stopped this. I could’ve saved her. But I didn’t, because I’d let myself believe that Analia was still the same girl I remembered from thirteen years ago—the girl who fought for her family, who laughed, who protected Dominic.

But she wasn’t that girl anymore.

She was a monster.

And yet, Dominic still stood there, shielding me, protecting me, even though I could see it in his eyes—he knew what she’d become. But he wouldn’t pull the trigger. I wasn’t sure if it was out of love or hope or sheer stubbornness, but he wouldn’t do it. And I knew if I didn’t do something, she was going to kill him.

My hands shook as I raised the gun, my shoulder screaming in protest. I peeked out from behind Dominic, the weight of what I was about to do pressing down on me like a crushing wave. My breaths came shallow and ragged as I lined up the shot. I could feel her eyes snap to mine, sharp and animalistic, like she could sense what I was about to do.

Her grip on the gun tightened, her finger hovering over the trigger. I didn’t have time to think.

I fired.

The sound of the shot was deafening, a crack that seemed to split the air in two. The force of it jerked my shoulder, sending a fresh wave of pain radiating through my arm. My ears rang so loudly that everything else seemed muted, distant.

I watched, almost in slow motion, as the bullet hit her. It struck her in the stomach, and her body jerked backward. Her eyes went wide, and for a moment, just a moment, she looked like herself again—scared, hurt, human. The gun slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

“Analia!” Dominic’s voice broke through the ringing in my ears. He rushed toward her, his arms reaching out to catch her as her knees buckled.

I stood there, frozen, the gun slipping from my trembling hand. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. All I could do was watch as Dominic caught her, lowering her to the ground. Blood spread across her shirt, staining it dark and wet, pooling beneath her.

I thought I’d feel relief, but all I felt was hollow. Empty.

“Why did you do it?” Dominic’s voice cracked as he looked back at me, his eyes filled with something I couldn’t quite name. Grief? Anger? Both?

“She was going to kill you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“She’s my sister,” he said, his words trembling as he cradled her.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if there was anything I could say. My heart ached, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I’d lost something I didn’t even know I cared about.

“She was going to kill you,” I repeated, my voice barely audible, trembling under the weight of everything that had just happened. The words sounded hollow, as though I was trying to convince myself more than him.

Dominic didn’t respond. His focus was entirely on Analia as she clutched at his shirt, her bloodied fingers smearing deep red across the fabric. Her breaths came in sharp, wet gasps, each one a struggle, her chest rising and falling erratically. Blood splattered from her lips when she coughed, staining her teeth in a grotesque crimson. But through the pain, she tried to smile. It was weak, broken, but it was there—a flicker of something fragile and human that hadn’t been there moments ago.

“Analia…” Dominic’s voice cracked, thick with anguish. He pressed his forehead to hers, his large hands cradling her face like she was something precious and delicate. “Why, Analia? Why did you do this? Why did it come to this?”

Her eyes filled with tears, and a choking, gurgling sound came from her throat as she tried to respond. Her lips moved, but the words were broken, garbled, nothing more than strained noises. The injury to her tongue reduced her to a childlike babble, and it was clear every attempt to speak caused her agony.

“Shhh, don’t try to talk,” Dominic murmured, his voice gentle but quaking. His tears fell freely now, dripping onto her bloodstained cheeks. “I’m here. Just... don’t go. Don’t leave me, okay? Just stay with me.”

But she didn’t stop. She shook her head weakly, as though she couldn’t bear to leave her words unspoken. Her trembling fingers fisted the front of his shirt, pulling him closer with what little strength she had left.

“Do...” she managed, the sound strangled and wet. “D-Dom...”

Her eyes filled with desperation, and fresh tears spilled over as she fought to communicate. Blood bubbled in her throat, and her cries turned into helpless, anguished gasps, like a child trying to explain something through hiccupping sobs.

“Dom...in...ic,” she finally managed, his name mangled and distorted, but unmistakable.

He squeezed his eyes shut, his grip on her tightening as though he could hold her soul in place with his bare hands. “I’m here. I’m here,” he said, his voice shattering. “I’ve got you. Whatever it is, Analia, I’ll fix it. Just don’t leave me. Please.”

Her eyes darted frantically, locking onto his. Her mouth worked again, her mutilated tongue stumbling over the shape of words. “S-sorr...ee.”

“No, no,” Dominic choked out, shaking his head. “Don’t say that. You don’t need to be sorry. We can fix this, Analia. I can fix this. I can get you out of here. I’ll take you away, okay? Just stay with me.”

Analia sobbed, her body jerking with the force of it. Blood smeared across her teeth as she tried to say something more, but all that came out were garbled sounds and wet gasps. Her tears mixed with the blood on her face, streaking her cheeks in red and salt.

I watched from where I stood, my legs like stone, my heart breaking into pieces I didn’t think could shatter any further. Tears poured down my own face, hot and relentless. I had thought of her as a monster just moments ago, but now, all I could see was a scared, broken girl fighting against the inevitable.

Dominic brushed a trembling hand through her matted hair, his lips quivering as he pressed them to her temple. “I was supposed to protect you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over her gasps. “I was supposed to keep you safe, Analia. I let this happen to you. I failed you. I’m so sorry.”

Her fingers twitched against his chest, her grip faltering. Her breathing grew shallower, each breath rattling like a fragile thread unraveling.

“Stay with me,” Dominic begged, his voice a raw, shattered whisper. “Analia, please.”

Analia’s trembling hand twitched against Dominic’s chest, but her eyes shifted to me. Those eyes, wide and glassy with tears, locked onto mine. There was no anger in them now, no fire or hatred—just a raw, agonizing plea that hit me like a blow to the chest.

Her hand moved weakly, slipping away from Dominic’s shirt and stretching toward me, her bloodied fingers trembling as if she was reaching out for something she couldn’t quite grasp. My breath caught, and without thinking, I stumbled forward, my legs feeling like they were wading through mud.

I dropped to my knees beside her, the blood pooling around her soaking into my jeans. Her hand brushed mine, weak and sticky, and I clasped it gently, cradling it as if it might shatter in my grip. Her fingers curled, so faintly I could barely feel it, as though she wanted me to hold her tighter.

Her mouth opened, blood bubbling at the corners as she tried to speak. “Not...” she gasped, her mutilated tongue struggling to form the words. Her voice was little more than a whisper, broken and jagged, but I leaned closer, desperate to hear her.

“Not... your... fault,” she choked out, each word a labor, her voice barely audible over the pounding in my ears.

My heart twisted painfully, and fresh tears blurred my vision. “Analia, stop,” I whispered, shaking my head as my own sobs broke free. “Don’t do this. Don’t... don’t leave us.”

Her chest heaved, her breaths shallow and rattling. “A...l-aric,” she tried, the name garbled and slurred, but unmistakable. Her eyes, shimmering with tears, searched mine desperately, pleading for something I couldn’t give her.

“Alaric?” I repeated, my voice breaking. “What about Alaric? Tell me, Analia. I’ll find him, I’ll—”

Her grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly, a weak squeeze, before her strength began to falter. She tried again, but the sound barely escaped her lips, her body wracked with a violent tremor.

Dominic was beside her again in an instant, his arms wrapping around her fragile frame. “Analia, no,” he whispered, his voice breaking apart, jagged and raw. “Stay with us. Please.”

Her head lolled slightly, turning toward him, her lips curling in the faintest ghost of a smile. Blood stained her teeth, her face pale and streaked with tears. She looked at him, at me, and her eyes softened, the terror and pain giving way to something gentler, more human.

Her gaze drifted back to me one last time, and her fingers twitched in my hand. Then, slowly, achingly, her eyes fluttered closed, her body growing still in Dominic’s arms.

“No,” I whispered, my voice cracking, breaking as I clutched her lifeless hand. “No, no, no.”

Dominic’s anguished cry tore through the silence, raw and guttural, as he pulled her closer to his chest, rocking her like a child. Tears streamed down his face, mingling with the blood smeared across her cheeks.

I stayed frozen, my hand still holding hers, even as it went limp in my grasp. My tears fell freely, hot and unrelenting, my chest heaving with the weight of what I couldn’t undo.

I couldn’t look away. My own sobs broke free, my chest heaving with the weight of it all. She was gone, and the silence she left behind was deafening.