The Devil We Know (Ends World #5)

51. Toward the Light

51

Toward the Light

Darius

I can say with certainty that in the many instances where I thought I was going to die, my life did not flash before my eyes.

Hindsight being what it is, it would appear that the reason behind this was simply because my life, as it was, just wasn’t of any great consequence.

And it's not lost on me the complete ridiculousness of this entire scenario, but here I am, once again, watching her fall.

Just as before, agony and rage cut through me, but this time, Tony isn't here to keep me back, to be the voice of reason, to stand between me and the edge.

And then that bright light settles around me, a sweet vibration of rage that I can taste in the back of my throat. I’m completely blind to caution, blind to the imminent danger directly in front of me.

The man now has half my face so twisted with anger and malice that I can't even fathom what I possibly could have done to him, given the fact that he still breathes. He stares me down, a twinge of recognition settling over me, followed by a coldness I have to shove aside as I focus on the here and now.

Maybe I would've got the jump on him if I’d kept my fucking mouth shut, but all the rage bubbled up inside me, erupting from my mouth as I started toward him. Antoinette offered a bit more distraction, but once he throttled her, she stood there dazed, standing on the brink of unconsciousness.

She steps back, weaving and teetering on the very edge of the container, one wrong move short of toppling over the edge and plummeting the equivalent of six stories into the harbor.

I'm not even fifteen feet from them, but I know I'm not going to make it. Desperation builds and boils over when his hand moves and the revolver is aimed at me.

I don't flinch, I don't waver, I keep barreling forward. And then, for the second time in my life, I watch my heart, my very own breath, disappear off an edge, plummeting into the unknown.

The bang of the gun cuts through the silence, but it doesn't deter me. He continues to shoot, and I continue to come until he's standing there, frozen in time with an empty weapon that falls to the ground as he braces himself for impact.

I don't slow at all. I ram into him full throttle, putting my shoulder down in the last second and jamming it up into his solar plexus as I lift him off the ground, the intensity of my forward momentum, launching us off the side of the container into space.

And it's in this moment that I completely understand Antoinette's previous inclination. Take them to hell with you.

There is no moment of being suspended in air or time. We're instantly falling, gravity taking hold of us and yanking us straight down into the water.

I lose my grip on him, but I immediately reach out, searching with my arms and legs until I make contact. He fights me, and I shove him down, wrapping my arm around the front of his throat, attempting to lock in the hold.

He twists, shoving me away as he kicks out, catching me in the chest. The force of his foot in my sternum jars me, and I release him. He quickly becomes a dark shadow, suspended in a current that's pulling him God only knows where.

I can't see much, dark saltwater distorting my vision as I swim toward one shadow and then another, desperate to have one of them be Antoinette.

And then she's there, clear as day.

Maybe it's the lack of oxygen, maybe it's the loss of blood, but I chuckle, shaking my head at the impossibility of it all.

Or maybe this is my life flashing before my eyes.

Maybe this clear vision of her in the murky depths of the ocean is a sign that my time is up. Maybe she’s also gone, and she’s come back for me with my ticket to paradise.

I'm not even mad.

Because at the end of the day, knowing I will never have to live one single day without her brings me peace.

I reach my hand out, stretching my entire body toward her as pain explodes in my torso. I force myself not to retract, to not fold into myself to ward off the agony. Her eyes widen as they lock with mine, fear and resignation mingled with love radiating from her gaze, and I reach harder, determined to grab her, to save her, to keep her.

Somehow, the water darkens further, dusky clouds floating along the periphery of my vision, and I’m suspended there, arm outstretched, as our fingertips just touch.

I smile.

Light explodes in my vision.

And I let go.