The halls of Regalia were silent except for the click of Luxa's heels on the stone as she made her way to the code room. She sat on the empty floor and stared vacantly at the door to the rat room, half expecting Ripred to jump out and ask her what she was doing. When he didn't come, she laid her head on her arms and cried.
She cried for her beautiful city, and Ares, Thalia and Hamnet, all those who had died for the sake of the prophecies written on the walls of the Prophecy Room. She thought of Henry, and her tears stopped as suddenly as they had started. Her eyes dried, and her hands clenched into fists. She searched for the decoded Code of Claw, the very reason that Gregor had left.
He had left because of Lizze, Boots, and his mom. He had left her, with only a goodbye. No promise to return, no smile and a promise that everything would be all right. Just one word. No reassuring squeeze, no hug, no thoughts for a better tomorrow, only for the impact that it would have on his sisters. No thoughts of her...
"enough," she thought. "This can't go on."
Despite her warning to herself, Luxa could not help but think of what they had been through, Gregor and her. They had defeated the Bane, watched her cousin fall to his death, and shared the loss of Ares together. They had gone through those terrible months together, waiting for the Diggers to tunnel into the Palace. They had watched her grandma get killed, and he had helped her bond with Ripred, who, true to her word, had ribbons curling from his ears and tail. He showed no displeasure, only sat and watched for Lizze, day after day after day. He would sadly stare at the doors, or sit in the code room where he had first seen her, waiting for her to come back.