The Golden Throne

Chapter 48: Final preparations

"Kye?" Zeno called out. Her voice bounced off of the walls of the corridor as she searched for him. She climbed up a flight of stairs and arrived at the fourth level. His room was situated here, where he ostracized himself from the others. "Kye?" she called out again.

She finally glimpsed the door to his room. It was slightly open, with dim yellow light seeping through. "Kye," she said again. "Come out. Hilda and Looker are worried about you. I'm worried about you."
The sounds of her heels approached Kye's door.

"Don't come any closer!" Kye shouted from inside.

"Kye," Zeno shook her head. "Don't be ridicul- Kye? What are you doing!?"

Inside his room, broken furniture was strewn across the floor, and his bed was a mess. A makeshift noose lay snapped on the floor. Kye was holding a window frame with one foot on a chair and the other on its old and cracked sill. The window protruded from the face of the mountain, and hundred feet below it was a jagged bottom. He was ready to jump.

"Take one more step, and I'll do it," Kye sobbed.

Zeno stood petrified. Every part of her wanted to scream at him to get down. But she knew from experience that this would only provoke him some more. She saw the rope burns on his neck. She took a deep breath, and did her best to sound calm.

"Kye, what's wrong? Are you okay?" she muttered, her voice wavering.

"Don't stop me. This is my right," he murmured, looking down from the window and at the rocky bottom.

"Kye, talk to me,"

"Go,"

"Please Kye, if there's anything you want to say--"

"Can't you see?" Kye shouted, tears streaming down his face. "Open your eyes, Nika! I'm on my own. I have no family and I've pushed away my friends."

"Kye." Zeno took a step towards him. Kye instantly placed his other foot on the windowsill.

"Don't come closer!" he warned.

"Kye, don't do this," Zeno cried.

"I don't deserve to live..." he murmured. "I put the people who loved me in danger. I'm no better than my uncle."

"I understand," Zeno said, doing her best to stay calm.

"Do you?" Kye barked. Zeno gave a silent nod.

"You feel messed up inside, and that there's no undoing what you've done. And that's true. There's nothing we can do to change that," Zeno said. Kye's foot moved, nearly making her heart jump out. "And, I know this sounds cliché but... we all make mistakes. There's no mistake too big to go unforgiven."

"They all hate me," Kye said. "Every last one."

"Hilda and Looker are worried about you!" Zeno said. "They've been asking for you the whole day. And Red is looking out for you too!"

"Hilbert would rather have me dead,"

"You don't know that," Zeno said. "Hilbert's going through a lot. We all are. We're all on edge; it's why we've made stupid decisions lately. And this isn't anyone's fault. If there's one thing we know about Hilbert, it's that he may seem like the most heartless person when he's angry, but... but in truth, he cares deeply for each of us. And he's too forgiving for his own good!"

"And you?" Kye murmured.

"I," Zeno's voice trailed off. "I'm in love with you, Kye."

Kye looked her in the eyes, his cheeks wet with tears. "Nika, I-"