We speak of forever, of bonds, of fate. And yes, there are signs. As the rune alters, her hidden power grows, her body adapts. But immortality isn’t promised.
And I…
I do not think I could survive losing her.
I look down again, memorising her. Letting the back of my fingers trail across her cheek, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
We cannot lose her.
Not to time. Not to doubt. Not to the cruel trick of hope.
“You good, man?” Sai’s voice cuts through the fog. He’s back on the bed, perched on the edge, brow creased. I hadn’t noticed him move.
I blink. “Hm?”
“You’re beingreal quiet…”
I could lie. But I don’t want to, not to him. “I was thinking.”
“Dangerous habit,my friend,” he taunts with a sly grin, cocking his head.
I huff softly, more breath than sound. “She bit me, Sai.”
“I saw the blood.” His grin cuts sharp, eyes darkening. “She got me too—nails and teeth. Healed too fast, and my darkness is raging about it.”
“She wasn’t thinking, she just acted on instinct,” I murmur. “I’ve never let anyone bite me, Sai. Not in five centuries, not after I was turned.”
His expression softens, eyes lightening. “And now you’re… what? Freaking out?”
“Yes.” I swirl the wine again. “Because I find myself wishing her mark would stay, but it won’t, ever. It’ll never be permanent.”
Sai frowns. “Jules, you’re not making sense—”
“We talk like forever is guaranteed. But it isn’t.”
It clicks, and his expression sours. “When the rune is fully removed, she’ll be immortal,” he says, voice low.
I brush her flush cheek. “Maybe.”
“No.”His snarl is filled with barely restrained venom, eyes dipping into inky blue. “There’s no maybe. No if. She’llbeimmortal.” Then his tone softens when his eyes sweep over her. “She has to be.”
I understand his rage. I would be angry at my doubt too. But I can’t help feeling a sense of… dread.
“Kane,” Sai suddenly calls over his shoulder, “when did you and Julien switch roles? I thought you were the negative fucker of the group?”
“It’s called realism, Sai.” Kane’s deadpan voice calls from his stance at the fireplace.
“I felt like that too, Julien,” Ezekial says, moving towards us, but eyes always on her. “It’s all I keep thinking about. How we keep her safe, with us, and all the what ifs...” He stops by the bed, fingers brushing her hair.
Sai exhales hard. “Fine. You want me to say it? Fucking same.” His hand reaches out, holding her leg through the blanket in a gentle grasp. “But I can’t think like that… I can’t.”
She shifts slightly in her sleep, fingers reaching higher until they settle on my bare chest.
“We’ll figure it out,” Ezekial says simply, voice calm as he sits on the edge beside her, fingers ghosting over her shoulder blades.
He always tries so hard to stay composed. To think positive. The heavy burden of holding the light within the unit. The one who pulls us from the edge—
“And we’ll burn the realms to ash before letting her slip away,” he suddenly adds. His words steady, but eyes flashing with a sharp glint of something wild.
