⤜---⤛ 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 ⤜---⤛ ▬▬ 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 ∗ 𝕛𝕛 ▬▬

⤛ 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕪 ⤜

Noa's voice was devoid of emotion, cold as ice.

"Something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now." The gun was now aimed at her as he held Talia tightly. "Do you really think I didn't know from the start what you were doing? I knew you had no idea of the significance of what you were searching for."

Talia let out a cry as he shoved her to the ground, gesturing violently at the stone dove.

"What, you think I just left that office door unlocked and open on accident?" The cackle that escaped his lips echoed throughout the cavern. "Through you, through your little buddies, I found her! I have been searching, alone, for years to get to this point."

Noa knelt down in front of her, pointing with the gun over to JJ who was now laying on the stone floor, moaning in pain. Hatred laced his voice as he spat, "And I wasn't about to let that leach get in the way, alright? I mean, you understand that, right?"

He was looking at Talia as though anything about this was okay, as though he expected her to thank him. She could only stare back.

Noa threw out his arms, frustrated."I never wanted it to happen like this, okay? I like you Talia, I do. I mean, you think I wanted you to see this?" He gestured again over to the pool of blood that was now forming around JJ. Then shook his head as he scoffed, "Look, I tried to take care of it but you just had to drag him back, huh? Well, that's on you."

Talia blinked back her tears, trying to comprehend the situation. The incident in the flooded passage... He was fucking insane. There were so many thoughts and questions flying through her head she couldn't pinpoint any. For some reason, she found herself asking, "But... what about your dad?"

All of a sudden, it seemed as though Noa's rage had vanished and he froze, his eyes empty of all emotion. "My father died a long time ago." Then, he shook his head, as though erasing the memory from his brain before pointing up at the dove once more. "This... this is my work."

Talia could only shake her head in disbelief, her face still wet from crying.

Noa acknowledged her silence with a cold nod, "I'm sure you're wondering about Bren too. Well, you'll be happy to know that I didn't lie to you entirely. It just wasn't my dad who dealt with him."

He stood up again and stretched before walking back to the podium. "I thought that after tipping them off about the cemetery, we had come to an agreement of some sort. Turns out trusting a smuggler was a poorly calculated decision on my part," he paused and gave her a malicious grin before adding, "Although, I do appreciate you taking care of that for me. I'm sure he planned to use me as I am about to use you."

Talia's heart pounded in her chest, fear taking over her body. She found her voice once again and it trembled as she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, as if the question had triggered the fire to return inside him, Noa's eyes blazed with anger. He shoved the gun into his pants and dragged Talia over to the pillar. She cried out in pain as he grabbed her hair, pulling her head down. "Do you see that? Do you see what it says?" he spat in her ear. "Or are you too thick to understand?"

His chest heaved as he panted, "Let me tell you what it says. In fact, why don't I just show you?"

Talia cried out again as he violently pulled her upright, yanking her wrist out over the Larimar stone. It lay in its home, the blue and white swirls no longer calming, but hungry, waiting. Then, Noa pulled a small knife from his pocket and gazed at the stone before staring back at her, his face inches from hers, his eyes boring into her mind.