Page 44 of King's Reckoning
"What have you done?" someone shouted as the implications became clear.
"Given us all a choice," Rowan replied, her voice carrying over the sudden silence. "Work together to get out alive or die fighting over artifacts that were never meant to be controlled by any single group."
The chamber shuddered as more supports began to fail. Even those who had come to kill them looked uncertain now, facing a threat greater than club rivalries.
"This is what Mom was trying to tell us," she continued, seizing the moment. "These historical records weren't meant to be controlled by one organization. They were protected by multiple founding families for a reason. To maintain balance. To ensure the truth couldn't be manipulated."
"Lies!" Darkness's shot went wide as falling debris affected his aim. "The artifacts belong to the strongest! To those willing to take what they want!"
"Like you took club secrets?" King demanded. "Sold us out to the highest bidder?"
"I took what should have been mine!" Darkness's face contorted with rage. "What Elena denied me when she chose you instead!"
Understanding hit Rowan like a physical blow. "You loved her," she breathed. "That's why you helped Blackwood. Why you turned against us. She rejected you for Dad."
"She chose wrong," Darkness snarled. "And now I'll take everything she valued. The artifacts, the club..." His gun trained on Rowan. "Her precious daughter."
Multiple weapons fired simultaneously. Rowan felt Reed slam into her, shielding her with his body as bullets filled the air. King's return fire dropped Darkness, but not before three rounds caught Reed in the back.
"No!" Rowan's scream of denial echoed through the chamber as she caught Reed's falling body. The chamber shook more violently as key supports finally gave way.
"Rowan!" King's voice cut through her panic. "The tunnel network—it's collapsing!"
She looked up to see cracks spreading through the ceiling, decades of careful engineering giving way. The structural damage had triggered a catastrophic chain reaction.
"Everyone out!" she ordered, her command carrying natural authority. Even those who hadcome for the artifacts found themselves obeying, survival instinct overriding everything else.
"Reed," she breathed, cradling his bloody form. "Stay with me. Please."
His eyes fluttered open, full of pain but still alert. "Not...going anywhere," he managed. "Still have...your back."
King appeared beside them, already moving to help carry Reed. "Barbara's found another exit," he reported. "A maintenance tunnel that should hold longer than the others. But we need to move now."
Rowan nodded, pushing down her fear as she helped support Reed's weight. Around them, the chamber continued to shake itself apart, ancient stonework crumbling after centuries of stability.
They made it to the backup tunnel just as the main chamber collapsed, taking decades of historical evidence with it. But Rowan felt no regret. The true value wasn't in the stone or artifacts. It was in the knowledge they contained. In the shared understanding between the founding families.
In truths that were meant to unite rather than divide.
"How bad?" she asked as Barbara examined Reed's wounds.
"Bad," the archaeologist admitted, concern etching lines around her mouth and between her brows. "He needs real medical attention. Soon."
"Devils have a facility nearby," one of the other club members offered—a King by his cut. "State of the art. Completely private."
Rowan studied him—another descendant of the founding families, she realized. "Why help us?"
"Because you were right," he said simply. "About the historical records being meant to be shared. About cooperation instead of control." He glanced at Darkness's body, partially buried under fallen stone. "About what happens when we forget that truth."
More members stepped forward—Devils, Kings, even some of their own brothers who had chosen to stand with them. All recognizing something larger than club politics at work. All seeing the value of the historical knowledge they had been entrusted to protect.
"Mom knew this might happen," Rowan said softly. "Saw the possibility of the founding families reuniting when these artifacts started surfacing. Saw us choosing a better way."
"Elena saw a lot of things," King agreed, his voice rough with emotion. He watched as others helped stabilize Reed for transport. "Including how love could transform rivalry into alliance."
The words hung between them—an acknowledgment of Elena's deeper wisdom, her understanding that protection of truth required cooperation rather than conflict.
"We need to move," Barbara interrupted gently. "These tunnels won't last much longer. And Reed—"
