I watch it burn and imagine the altar where I was supposed to die disappear beneath a mountain of rubble and fire.
Then I roll off Callum and onto my back, staring up at the sky.
Stars.
I breathe in the fresh air, cold and clean and free of smoke.
"Zaria. Stay with me," he says. "You hear me? Stay with me."
I want to. I want to tell him I'm okay, that I'm here, that I'm not going anywhere.
But the darkness is creeping in at the edges of my vision again, thicker this time, heavier. My eyelids feel like lead and Callum's voice sounds far away.
I hear other voices, and footsteps surrounding us.
"Get the fuck back! Don't touch her!" Callum yells.
Someone argues.
"Jesus Christ, Cal. What the..." someone says.
"We need to get them to the hospital! Get them in the fucking car!" another voice shouts.
People crowd around me, silhouettes against the burning sky. I try to focus on their faces, but they blur together, smearing into shadows that lean and shift.
The last thing I see before the darkness swallows me is Callum, bloodied and broken, reaching for me like I'm the only thing in this world that matters.
Then nothing.
38
ZARIA
The beeping is the first thing I hear.
It's steady and rhythmic, and it pulls me into consciousness even though my mind is foggy.
I try to move, and a stinging sensation wraps my entire shoulder, radiating down my arm and across my chest like fire crawling beneath my skin.
A groan escapes me before I can stop it.
My fingers twitch against a thick blanket.
My eyes flutter open, and the room swims into focus in fragments, my brain slowly processing light and shapes.
The ceiling is white with soft fluorescent lights. I can smell antiseptic mixed with something floral.
I'm in a hospital.
"Zaria?"
The voice reaches me before my vision clears completely. Deep and rough and familiar in a way that makes my chest ache with relief.
Even without seeing him, I know that voice.
"Callum," I say, though it's hard to get out with my dry throat. I shake my head, trying to clear the haze.
"Yes, baby. God, thank fuck you're awake."
