I don’t know how long it lasts.
A minute.
An hour.
Forever.
Eventually I slump forward, exhausted, breath hiccuping against Finn’s shirt.
Kael strokes my hair once.“There she is.”
“Still breathing,” Finn whispers.
Atlas leans in close enough that his breath touches my shoulder.“Good.”
I sit up slowly, wiping my face with the sleeve of my shirt.“I’m sorry.”
“Stop,” all three say at once.
I laugh—a tiny, broken sound—but a real one.
“I’m scared,” I admit, whisper-small.
“We are too,” Finn says.
Kael nods.“Doesn’t matter.We’ll handle it.”
Atlas’s voice is barely audible.“We’re not losing you.”
I look at them—really look.
Their fear.
Their devotion.
Their anger.
Their heartbreak.
Their tenderness.
Whatever this is between us, it isn’t simple.
And it isn’t going back to what it was.
Not after tonight.
Not after they held me through the worst moment of my life and made me feel like I wasn’t broken for surviving it.
My breath steadies.
“Stay with me,” I whisper.
Finn squeezes my hand.“Nothing could make us leave.”
Kael nods once.“We’re here.”
Atlas doesn’t speak.
