My vision flickers back to life for a moment, but the only thing illuminated is the glowing tree at my side, casting an ethereal light in an otherwise suffocating darkness. Just when I try to focus on it, a fresh wave of pain surges through me, and once again, I’m cast into the void.
My thoughts drift to my parents and friends—will they be okay when I am no longer here? Will Trysten, with his unwavering loyalty, and Ciara, with her fierce compassion, find a way to escape the hellish nightmare we’ve crashed into? And what of Tate? Will he remember to laugh when I’m gone?
Will my parents survive my death, or will they die with me? My safety has been my mother’s sole focus, and my happiness my father’s. Every moment, I have felt their undeniable love for me as if I were their sole reason for continuing on. They have to live.
A deeper ache settles in my heart when I think of Anders. Will he understand that in the end, it was his presence, his quiet strength, his comforting hold that I yearned for the most? That in my last minutes, it was he that I craved more than anything—his warmth, our Bond, our relentless teasing. Will Kellan forgive me? Does Kellan know how deep my love for him is and that even in death, he will always hold a piece of my heart? The weight of so many unanswered questions presses down on me as I feel my fingers begin to slip.
“Oh, how she’ll enjoy torturing you, devouring you, little light,” a sinister voice whispers, dripping with malicious glee. “It won’t be long now.”
The words coil around me like chains, tightening their grip. Before I can fully comprehend their implications, I’m pulled into unconsciousness once more.
I awaken to the distant echoes of voices calling my name, pullingme from the depths of nothingness. I can only focus on the overwhelming shouts and mocking sneers that claw at my mind. The sharp pain of talons digs into my sides with a frantic desperation, as if trying to keep me in this nightmare.
“Rae!” I hear Kellan’s voice pierce through the chaos.
But can it truly be him?
It feels like I’m hallucinating, trapped in a twisted reality. That surge of power I felt before pulses within me, the fire building with each passing second, hotter and hotter, igniting a nuclear heat deep within my core. I gasp just before a roar escapes my lips as the waves of agony mount.
My back arches involuntarily away from the damp, soft ground, and I feel my fingers slip from the ancient root that has been my lifeline. Panic floods my thoughts, but that unyielding heat seems to burn away those poisonous talons, incinerating each deep gouge. I claw at the ground, desperate to hold onto something, anything.
“Soraea.” Anders’ voice echoes in my mind, penetrating the iron dome that has shielded my mind like it’s nothing more than a sheer veil. I feel him kneel beside me, his presence unmistakable even in this endless expanse of hell. Almost as if I summoned him. Cool, soothing hands embrace me like ice has wrapped around my burnt flesh. I can feel the sharp claws lodged in my sides withdrawing, allowing the jumbled chorus of voices in my head to retreat, their terrifying screeches fading into the distance. The raging fire, that insatiable flame consuming me from within, flickers and then extinguishes, as if a splash of water is all it took, as ifhewere all it took.
A sensation similar to cool water floods through me like a stream, healing me with every heartbeat as it surrounds my nerve endings, my muscles, and even my soul. Slowly, so slowly, I peel my eyes open, and all I see is him.
Anders.
My breath hitches as my gaze catches on him. He’s devastatingly handsome, his presence consuming. His dark hair is windswept, and purple bruises underscore striking sapphire eyes, but he’s nothing short of perfection.
His gaze roams anxiously over mine, searching, probing. For a fleeting moment, I wonder if I am merely hallucinating his presence or if he has truly come for me.
“You’re here,” I rasp, tears welling in my eyes. It’s not a question. My words seem to wreck him, his features falling as he nods.
After an agonizing pause, he releases me, but echoes of pain surge back through my body, and a desperation wells up inside me. “Don’t leave me,” I plead, my voice raw and raspy. “Don’t let go. Please, stay. Just stay.”
He runs a soothing hand down my cheek. “I’m not leaving. Never,” he replies shakily. “I’m here. I’ve got you. I’ll always come for you.”
A flash of pure white catches my eye, and I turn to see that the world around us has transformed into a mesmerizing cocoon of pure starlight, swirling and twisting on an ethereal breeze.
With a tenderness that steals my breath, he lowers his head to mine, inhaling deeply as if drawing strength from my very essence. He pulls me into his lap as though I am the most fragile thing in the universe, something precious and irreplaceable that he cannot bear to relinquish.
Moments later, the starlight begins to fade, leaving me to wonder if it was all a beautiful illusion conjured to shield me from the agonizing reality. My entire body aches, and a heavy weight of exhaustion settles in, mingling with the numbing aftermath of pain. Have I died? The thought flits across my mind, unsettling yet oddly calming.
He reclines back, cradling me against him, holding me close as if the simple act of touching me will ward off all the lingering darkness. “Not dead,” he coos softly, his voice a gentle balm as he brushes a tender hand down my arm, anchoring me in the here and now. “I’m here.”
I hadn’t realized I had spoken my fears aloud.
My body trembles against him at the mere thought of experiencing that pain, that suffocating darkness, that evil again. As if sensing my unease, he shifts onto his side, pulling me close so our bodies align perfectly. In this moment, I am blissfully detached from everything—my fears, my memories—like the gods themselves conspired to send him to me just when I needed him most.
My thoughts blur and dissolve, leaving only the warmth of his embrace as my anchor. I rest my head against his heart, feeling the erratic thump lulling me into a deep sleep and into a realm bathed in warmth and starlight, far removed from the gaping pit of emptiness that filled me before. Exhaustion settles over me like a heavy blanket, and I willingly surrender to it, letting my consciousness slip away.
I find myself floating on an undulating sea, the sky above a breathtaking tapestry of muted colors as trillions of stars twinkle like diamonds, casting soft glimmers upon the water’s surface. So many worlds beckon to be explored out there, yet I remain cradled by the gentle waves, feeling an overwhelming sense of safety that envelops me. I surrender to the much-needed rest my body demands. But like whispers carried across the water, I hear the voices of Trysten and Kellan, cutting through the peaceful silence.
“RaeRae,” Kellan whispers, and the concern lacing his voice has me turning my head toward that voice.
“Are they alive?” Trysten rasps.
I can hear the fear in his voice, but I keep drifting. My heart aches for a moment at the thought of them worrying, but the comforting weight of exhaustion pulls me further into this dreamlike sea. I want to reassure them that we’re fine, but the tide of sleep keeps rolling in, lulling me deeper into forgetfulness, where the demands of reality cannot reach me.
