“Even though it’s probably torture?”
“Especially because it’s probably torture.” I shift, making myself more comfortable. Arm around her shoulders. “Tomorrow, we’ll know. Tonight, we have this.”
“One night to figure out if we’re choosing each other or if magic is choosing for us.”
“Yes.”
She’s quiet for a long moment. Then: “For the record? I hope it’s us choosing.”
“So do I.”
We sit in silence. Her head on my shoulder. My arm around her. The bond humming between us—damaged but present.
Tomorrow, it breaks.
Tonight, we have this.
One night to understand what we’re letting go of.
Or what we’re fighting to keep.
Chapter 30
Mara
Dawn comes too fast.
I’ve been awake for hours. Lying beside Kael, his arm around me, both of us pretending to sleep. I still feel the bond. A constant awareness that’s about to be severed.
Soon, Elena and Lila will knock on that door.
And everything changes.
“You’re not sleeping,” Kael says quietly.
“Neither are you.”
“No.”
We’re still dressed. Both of us too wired to even pretend to be resting. His shirt is wrinkled from where I’ve been pressed against him. My hair is a disaster. We look like we survived something.
Which, I guess, we did.
“I should get up,” I say. “Brush my teeth. Try to look less like a horror movie extra.”
“You look fine.”
“I look like I haven’t slept in a week. Which—” I stop. “Okay, fair, I basically haven’t.”
“Mara.”
Something in his voice makes me look up. His eyes are steady. Certain.
“Whatever happens,” he says, “you were not a mistake. This—” He gestures between us. “It matters. Regardless of what we feel after.”
My throat closes. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
