━━ CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE / abdullah el-faouly

The tomb was a maze. A whole lot bigger than she had expected but she managed to find her way back onto the main path again. It grew lighter and then she walked across the broken down archway into the main room and Steven was standing there. He had the sarcophagus open and his hand down the throat of the body. Whoever's body it was. There was a box of light just behind the sarcophagus, lighting up Steven's face which was crinkled up in disgust.

Ronny didn't say anything as she surveyed the hieroglyphs on the walls. They were mostly Egyptian and then... there was Macedonian. Ronny's jaw dropped and she nearly slipped over in the water as she stared at them. This was Alexander the Great's tomb. The tomb that she had been searching for all those years ago.

The tomb that her husband died trying to find. And now Steven was sticking his hand down Alexander the Great's throat.

"Steven!" Ronny shouted without even thinking as she splashed through the water to get to him, "Stop it! Stop it!" Ronny began to panic as she bounded up to the steps to him. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away but he seemed to have a hold of something and she let go just as quickly as she had latched onto him. Her eyes widening as she watched his hand push further down Alexander's throat, "Steven... this, you've just..." Ronny trailed off as she stared at the ruined mummy's face and back to Steven who was pulling his arm back.

"I know." Steven said softly. Ronny's whole face fell and then Steven pulled out the ushabti of Ammit. Ronny just stared, unsure how to even react or what she was supposed to do. He had just destroyed one of the most sought-after mummies in history. Her whole life's work was lying in front of her, destroyed by the man she loves.

"He died for this and now it's ruined," Ronny chuckled humourlessly. Steven frowned deeper, his hand holding Ammit's ushabti falling slightly but he had a tight grip, "My ex-husband. He, well, we searched for him. He died because of it. But here he is." She attempted to explain. Steven nodded and stepped back to let Ronny look over the mummy. Ronny looked across the sarcophagus before she sighed.

"Where's Layla?" Ronny asked, breaking her gaze away from the artefacts. She could mourn the loss of her greatest discovery later. They all had to get out now before Harrow got here and killed them all for the ushabti. They had it and then Ronny looked up to see Layla. Her face was not that of someone happy to see them. Either of them.

"The ushabti goes to us! I had to go digging down old Alexander the Great's gullet, but I found it," Steven explained. He sounded so jovial, excited, happy. They had found what they had been searching for all this time. But Harrow has ruined it.

"What did he tell you?" Ronny asked quickly, standing beside Steven. If it was what she expected, he would need protection from the woman's wrath.

"Can he hear me?" Layla asked, her voice angry but still the same volume as usual. She looked infuriated and from there, there was no doubt in Ronny's mind what this was about.

"Alexander? I don-" Steven began but Ronny cut him off before Layla got any more frustrated, "She meant Marc," Ronny informed. Steven looked between the two women confused and Ronny was frowning deeply now. This was her fault.

"What happened to my father?" Layla asked, getting up close to Steven. He looked terrified, clueless. Ronny grabbed Layla and pulled her back.

"Layla, Harrow is just tr-" She began but Layla smacked her arm away, aggressively.

"I don't want any more lies! From either of you!" The brunette practically shouted at them. Steven still looked beyond confused but Ronny just felt guilty. Her stomach turned from the anxiety. This was always coming, she knew that. But this was not the time.

"What? I've not lied about... I don't know about your dad," Steven mumbled out. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Layla glare at them both.

"Layla, we need to go. We need to go now. We have to talk about this after we've left." Ronny said as she grabbed both of their arms, going to drag them to the exit. But Layla yanked her arm out of her grip and Ronny stopped, turning around.

"Stop talking! I want to hear what Marc has to say," Layla spat. Ronny let go of Steven's arm and shook her head.

"It's not Marc's fault," She snapped in response. Layla scoffed, shaking her head at the accusation. The anger was palpable, terrifying. Ronny had never seen the brunette so angry even with the flirting and Marc's constant attempts to lone wolf missions.

"Stop, stop!" Marc was back and Ronny didn't know what to do. It could only go downhill from here and she didn't know what to say or what to do. She couldn't. "We need to leave right now. I will explain everything, I swear. But we have to go. All of us, now." Marc made the same moves to take Layla out of the tomb but she wouldn't budge. She just got up close to Marc. Their faces were a few inches apart.

"Did you kill Abdullah El Faouly?"

"Of course not. Of course I didn't." Marc's voice was surprisingly calm considering the situation but it was clear that Layla didn't entirely believe him. It was Ronny's turn to be honest.

"I did." The words felt hard to say but Ronny knew that she had to admit it eventually. Layla turned on her heel and stared at Ronny.

"And he was there?" Layla asked, gesturing wildly to Marc. Ronny nodded.

"He was but he was dying. Like your father," Ronny tried to keep herself calm. The guilt was crushing but she swallowed the lump in her throat. This wasn't the worst thing that she had done. It was pretty damn close though.

"What did you do to him!" Layla shouted, walking up to Ronny. They were inches apart now and the anger was rolling off Layla in waves. Her hands clenched into fists by her sides.

"I didn't have a choice. I was too late." It was a weak defence but it was the truth. There was nothing she could have done. She had been backed into a corner that night and it was impossible to make the right decision.

"Too late?" Layla's entire face had fallen into the deeper pits of anger. If Ronny wasn't careful, she knew that she would get a punch. She deserved it., "You could have saved him!"

"I tried to save him!" Ronny said quickly, her voice getting louder in response to Layla's anger. Everything she had done that night had been in vain and Marc's confusion said everything. He couldn't even remember that she was the one who took him into that temple. It was all her fault. All of this.

"Stop lying for me," Marc snapped and Ronny's quick response of, "I'm not," was overshadowed by Layla's demand.

"How did he die?" The question was directed at Marc and Ronny ran her fingers through her hair. This was not the time. Harrow could appear at any moment. It hadn't taken her long to find the room. Harrow had the scarab. He was better off, he could walk through this maze easily.

"My partner got greedy and he executed everyone at the dig site. I tried to save your father but I couldn't save him. And I..." Marc trailed off and couldn't even finish his sentence before Layla had turned on Ronny.

"And how did he die?" Layla wanted to know if their stories lined up. Ronny knew that they did. The memories of that night were burned into the back of her mind for eternity.

"He was shot. I found everyone else was already dead at the dig site when I got back. There were two people alive. I tried to save them both. I failed." Tears were welling in her eyes at the memories of that night. The blood, so much blood. Ronny almost didn't want to admit what she had done to Marc. Not out loud. She couldn't bring herself to say it because then it would change everything. Their entire relationship would shift.

"So you brought a killer right to him and you made the wrong choice!" Layla had stepped down a few steps, pointing fingers accusingly at them both.

"I tried to save them both. I left Marc alone for him!" Ronny shouted, not even aware of her own words before they had slipped from her mouth. Marc's whole face fell and Ronny didn't even try and look at him. That is what terrified her. His reaction.

"You should have tried harder!" Layla shouted, matching Ronny's volume.

"I did. I tried everything but he had lost too mu-" Ronny stepped down towards Layla, begging her to just believe her but she was cut off again.

"I don't want your excuses," She spat. Genuine venom in her tone and Ronny's face crumpled.

"Layla, please. I did ever-" Ronny tried to explain but then Layla punched her. It had more power behind it than Ronny expected and she felt her nose crack. Her head was thrown to the side from the force of it and she let out a cry of pain as she stumbled. Her hand pressed against her nose and the blood leaked from her nostril. Ronny should have seen that coming. She deserved it.

"We need to leave. Now." Marc demanded as he looked between the women. Ronny nodded in agreement. She wiped the bow of her lip, smearing blood across her hand.

"You don't get to say anything. That's the reason that we met. You just had a guilty conscience," Layla turned her anger back onto Marc and Ronny winced. It was true though. She knew it was true and she couldn't stand it, "And you! You're only here to make up for your failures. You don't want to protect us at all." The anger was back on her again and Ronny didn't know what to say. Then she heard noise, movement.

"Harrow is here," She said quickly. Layla's anger disappeared in an instant and Marc glanced at the entrance before he looked around.

"There must be another way out." Layla said quickly.

"Okay. Go, find it. I'll hold them off." His words were not something that could be questioned but Ronny did. Layla ran to find an exit and Ronny just stood there, watching him as he grabbed the gold axe from Alexander's tomb, "Ronny, you need to leave."

"I was serious about what I told Steven." Marc's face fell at her words and he glanced at the entrance before he looked down at her. He took the few sandstone steps down to her and grabbed her arm.

"And Steven was right. You are not dying for us. Go to Layla." He ordered and Ronny shook her head. He stared at her and she stared right back. But he didn't give her a choice. He grabbed her arm and shoved her down the steps in Layla's direction. Ronny stumbled, nearly falling and scrambled behind the pillar when Harrow walked in with his triage of men.

There were too many of them. She didn't even know if she'd be able to save him if she tried. She couldn't do it. Layla was still searching as Harrow began to monologue.

"It's just you," He began as he looked up at Marc. Marc had the gold axe lifted in his hand, ready for a fight. But there were at least ten guns trained on him. It would be a mistake to do anything. He didn't have Khonshu. Harrow knew that, "I remember the first morning I woke up knowing that Khonshu was gone. The quiet was liberating," Ronny felt the blood trickle down her face and she wiped again, wincing at the pain that spread from her nose, blooming across her cheeks. Everything already hurt but the ache in her heart and the feeling of being completely useless was worse, "You're a free man and, of course, with that freedom comes choice." Harrow explained as he stepped up onto the sandstone steps. He was getting closer to Marc and two gunmen joined Harrow's side "And right now, you have a very important decision to make." He wanted the ushabti but Marc would never give it to him. He would never hand it over.

Marc killed three of the gunmen in a blink of an eye but then Harrow pulled his gun and shot, twice. The sound reverberated across the walls and Ronny winced away from the noise. Her eyes squeezed shut. She always hated gunshots. The first one hit Marc in the chest, up towards his right shoulder and he stumbled backwards across the tomb. The second one hit him in the heart and he collapsed into the water that surrounded the sarcophagus.

The whole world seemed to slow as he fell into the water and Ronny clambered to her feet. Her whole body pushed her to go after him, save him, do something but two arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. Ronny's eyes filled with tears as she stared at him as he lay in the water. Layla dragged her back, held her against her chest. Layla's face was buried in Ronny's neck so she didn't have to look at the body but also to keep her back. The tears that spilled down Ronny's cheeks came quickly and Layla pushed her hand over her mouth, muffling any noise that she made from the sobs that threatened to wrack her body. They couldn't be spotted. They had to leave.

The ushabti was collected from Marc and then they left the room, filing out and leaving the two completely alone. It took a few extra minutes before Layla let Ronny go and the brunette ran straight for Marc.

The water was tinged red with his blood and she collapsed onto her knees, her legs soaked as she pulled on his body, dragging him towards her. Her hands pressed against the wounds on his chest and she couldn't work out what to do. She didn't know what to do. She felt useless and her vision was blurry as her fingers clawed at his shirt and the tears continued to fall down. Dripping from her chin onto his body. She had promised Steven. She promised that she would protect them and she had failed. She had failed to protect someone else.

"We have to get him somewhere... we have to... we ha-" But Ronny couldn't even get the words out before she broke down into fully-fledged sobs. Her entire body wracked from the force of her pain as Layla stood and looked on from the other side of the room. She didn't know what to do with herself either but Ronny looked broken.

Her hands reached all over his chest, checking his pulse, anything to try and bring him back or give some hope that he was alive. But there was nothing. He was gone. Someone else was gone and she sobbed harder. The man she loved was dead, again. Her whole body crumpled as she sobbed harder. She would have stayed there for hours if Layla hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled her away. The brunette was silent as she dragged Ronny out of the tomb. Ronny couldn't stop crying.

-

NOTE
double update!! this was a bit of a hard one to write but it's here! and drama is going to ensue, i hope you enjoyed <3