The moment my lips touched hers, a jolt cracked through me—sharp, electric,alive—and my heart stuttered hard against my ribs, like it couldn’t decide whether to break or keep fighting.
She felt so close, so achingly intimate, and for a single breathless second, I forgot the fear. Forgot the cold, the danger, the ticking clock. There was only her—and the unbearable sweetness of her mouth against my own.
And in that moment, I found myself wishing for an alternate reality—one where she wasmine, and forever wasn’t just a fantasy.
But this wasn’t about us.
It was abouther, about saving the woman who had stormed into my life and had rearranged it like a fucking interior decorator with too much attitude.
I pressed my mouth to hers again, sealing the space between us and exhaling, slowly, steadily, forcing my breath into her lungs. Her lips were soft beneath me, parted slightly, still and yielding. I could feel the shape of her, the way her chest barely lifted under my hands, the way her eyelashes remained still against her pale skin.
I tried not to think about how natural it felt to hold her like this.
How wrong it was that I could feel every line of her body while her soul drifted further away.
Another breath. And another. My pulse pounded in my ears, deafening and frantic. I shifted my weight, one hand sliding down to her sternum, pressing down—searching for movement, for life.
Nothing. No flutter of lashes. No answering heartbeat. No twitch of breath.
Only terrifying, soul crushing silence.
"Breathe for me, baby," I muttered against her lips, my voice shaking as I pulled back to look at her pale, still face. "I need you to fucking breathe for me.”
I breathed into her again, while my pulse was a thunderstorm in my ears, hammering away as if it could somehow beat enough for the both of us.
“Fuckingfight this, Emma!" My voice was thick with despair as I pressed my lips to hers again.
Each breath I gave her was filled with everything I had, every ounce of hope and fear tangled together.
The longer the silence lasted, the more it tore through me, each passing second amplifying the ache in my core. It wasn’t only about saving her—it was about saving myself too. Because if she was gone, I wasn’t sure what would be left of me.
I pulled back one more time, my forehead resting against hers as I murmured into the stillness, “Please, nightcrawler.” I swallowed hard. “Come back to me.”
And then, right when I thought I’d lost her for good, there was the smallest hitch in her stillness—a hardly-there flutter of breath that sent a shockwave through me, stopping my heart mid-beat. For a split second, I didn’t dare believe it was real. But then it came again, more ragged this time, a desperate gasp that filled her lungs and broke the silence.
"Emma!" I whispered as I pulled back, staring at her. Her chest rose and fell in uneven, shallow breaths, but she was breathing. She was alive. Relief washed over me, leaving me dizzy. But it was still far from over.
I had to get her out of here—now. My mind raced, searching for a plan. The freezing air bit at my skin, the jagged walls seeming to close in around us. I glanced around frantically, my heart pounding as I considered my options. There was no easy way out, no time to wait for backup. Every second felt too long, each breath she took a fragile promise that could shatter if I didn’t act fast.
Fuck! I was alone, trapped in a frozen cell with her barely hanging on, and I had no way of?—
Suddenly, a thunderous crash reverberated through the mountain, making the very ground beneath me tremble.
My head snapped toward the sound, my heart jumping into my throat as the noise of splitting and cracking filled the air. The walls shook violently, chunks of frozen debris breaking off and crashing to the floor in a flurry of sharp, brittle shards. I shielded Emma instinctively, bracing myself against the cold as pieces of the ceiling rained down around us.
And then, through the chaos, a hulking silhouette emerged—massive, unstoppable—a machine plowing through the barrier like it was nothing. The frozen wall crumbled away, revealingits jagged, towering form, and for a moment, all I could do was stare, stunned by the sheer force of it.
My head whipped around just in time to see Sean at the controls of what could only be described as a high-powered ice-breaking machine. The sound was deafening, but it was the most welcome noise I’d heard in my whole fucking life.
“Sean!” I shouted, my voice cracking with a mixture of relief and disbelief.
My brother didn’t hesitate.
The moment he’d cleared enough space, he leaped out of the machine, boots crunching against the fractured ice as he sprinted toward us. His attention locked briefly on the Amplifier behind me, still glowing faintly, before flicking to Emma’s still form in my arms.
“Caden, ye look like shit,” Sean grunted, his usual sarcasm bleeding through, but it was tempered by concern. Real concern.
Dropping to one knee beside me, Sean’s gaze swept over Emma, his expression quickly shifting to the controlled calm of someone who’s seen too many close calls. His breath came in frayed clouds of steam, but his sharp focus was there, taking in every detail with a practiced eye.
