Fading into time

chapter 14

I froze in shock, hand hovering over the button.

Around the duo lay the scattered bodies of guards; when had the fight even ended?

Kygo was staring at me like his life depended on it. Which it did. But he kept jerking his head towards the time machine over the vat of acid, nodding at me to keep going. But how could I?

"If you so much as think of pressing that button, we will both die. Me and your friend over here."

This time, my eyes widened, staring straight at Kygo. He had said he would be fine, that the time machine only affected Liam.

"Both of you didn't know?" Liam hummed, grinning as if he had already won this round. Kygo looked down at his shoes while my jaw unhinged itself in horror. I had almost killed Kygo.

But if I had to destroy the time machine in order to get rid of Liam, that would mean getting rid of Kygo too. Like father, like son.

The bitterness of it welled up in my gut, but that was probably nothing compared to what Kygo was feeling right now.

"Since when do you care about Nature's Law?" My voice came out as a whisper, carrying in the space between us.

"Oh I don't," Liam replied flippantly, eyes locking onto mine. "If I had, I wouldn't have started with the wings. Don't you see, we didn't deserve to have the wings taken away from us. They were gifted to us from our ancestors, the fallen angels who walked the Earth with their original wings. I'm giving us back what is rightfully ours, and the Gods can't touch us because those wings are man-made. They may unleash their wrath, yes, but as you can see, Kygo here remains unscathed."

A dark look crossed Kygo's face at this, fury simmering in his eyes and I winced. "What about all those other children that didn't survive, huh? The Qi was the only thing that kept me alive."

Liam's reply was to press the barrel of the gun harder against his temple, a warning for him to shut up.

"The new wings come with plenty of Qi. Your blood will gift them the power, which will remain undiluted even after replication. The people will be unscathed, but I do know that if a man destroys something that is man-made and has gone against Heaven's wishes of his own will, then the Gods will bear the power to destroy everything that has ever used it.

"So, if you don't touch anything, I might even let you go without killing you. After all, I only need his blood," the gun tapped threateningly against Kygo's head and he snarled, "and if he's dead, you'll have no reason to listen to me. So get out of that crane, and I'll consider just drawing his blood and letting him live."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The unforgiving cold metal pressed against my skin was starting to irk me. Honestly, I didn't care if I died, it would just be a release from the horror that had been plaguing me ever since the experiments started and the pain and loneliness that had accompanied me for the majority of my life. But choosing to die before my mission was accomplished was a cowardly act in my book. So if I was going down, I would make sure to drag Liam with me.

Shifting my gaze to Sophie, I pleaded with my eyes, not really finding it in me to speak a single word now.

Please.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was drawn into the depths of Kygo's eyes, so terribly open and trusting and pleading.