“I fell for you the moment I saw you. It was this bone-deep pull—a gravity I couldn’t fight, a resonance I didn’t understand. I knew we were meant to be together, but my brother...”
He chokes on a ragged breath, the fire casting long, dancing shadows on his ruined face.
“He didn’t understand. Mark had always been twisted and unpredictable—an unfortunate side-effect of our upbringing—but he was my twin. My other half. I thought I could contain him. I thought I could keep his darkness from touching you.”
I go absolutely still. All that time I followed Mark. It was never Mark at all. It was Micah.
My stomach lurches, a cold wave of nausea rolling through me.
“I started watching you,” he continues, his voice fading in and out. “It felt innocent at first. I just wanted to know you. Where you went. What kind of coffee you liked. The way you laughed when you thought no one was looking. I was guarding you, Lumi. Even back then.”
I take a step toward him, drawn by the horrific magnetism of the truth.
“Lumi, stay back,” Andrik growls, his hand twitching at his side.
Micah doesn’t even look at him. He doesn’t take his eyes off me.
“But the need grew too loud. I wanted to be with you, but I wanted you to choose me. Mark... Mark wasn’t so patient. He saw me struggling and wanted to end it.”
He sways, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth. The world seems to tilt. I know what’s coming. I can feel the ghost of Anna’s scream in the back of my throat.
“He went to your apartment that night. New Year’s Eve. He went to take you—to bring you to me like some sick, twisted gift. A reward for all the times I’d fixed his messes.”
No-no-no. I know where this is going.
“He didn’t know Anna would be there,” Micah whispers, a tear slipping from his eye, carving a path through the grime onhis cheek. “He injected you to keep you quiet... but Anna woke up. She fought, and he panicked.”
Oh my God. The air is sucked out of the circle. My sister. My beautiful, brave sister died because of a mistake in a plan to kidnap me.This is all my fault. Her blood is on my hands.
His eyes fall to the ground, heavy with so much shame.
“I didn’t know, Lumi. I swear I didn’t know.” Tears pour from his eyes. “When I found out—when he told me what happened—it was too late. I couldn’t?—”
His voice breaks.
“I had to protect you from him. From anyone who might hurt you. I couldn’t let you go. But I couldn’t have you either. Not after—” He collapses forward, and I move instinctively, catching him before his face hits the frozen earth. He’s heavy, his body fading into the winter air.
He’s dying, I can feel his breath slow, the wet, raspy sound is something I will never be able to forget. Godfire dances in his pupils, but he isn’t looking at me anymore. He’s looking into the sky.
“Anya...” he whispers, the name a soft, broken plea. “I understand now. Please tell her... I’m sorry”
My brows knit together, a fresh wave of guilt and confusion crashing over me. My body is shaking so hard I can barely hold him. “Who?” I ask, my voice cracking. “Micah, Anna is dead. You know that.”
I don’t know if he can hear me anymore. He turns his head toward the canopy, and suddenly the forest ripples. The trees begin to sway in a wind that hasn’t touched the ground yet, their branches groaning like an ancient choir.
“No.” A small, peaceful smile touches his lips, blood staining his teeth. “She’s not gone. She’s... waiting. Just on the other side of this forest. I’ll find her. I’ll make it right this time.”
His eyes glaze over, the light in them flat and distant. He looks younger now—the lines of pain and loneliness smoothing out as the magic of the world finally lets him go.
His lips move one last time, a ghost of a sound carried by the winter air.
“A—Anya...” he stutters, his eyes unfocused. “Anna... I’ll find you. Even in the meadow. Even in... Eden.”
His body goes limp in my lap, head lolling against my arm. The weight of him is absolute, a hollow vessel for a soul that has already fled toward a different sun.
The wind dies. The blue flames settle into a low, steady hum.
I stare down at the face of my tormentor, my protector, my shadow. And as tears finally spill over, a cold, sharp clarity settles in my chest.
