His domain. The bone palace rising in the distance. Black roses blooming. Eternal twilight.
Her knees gave out.
She collapsed onto the grass. Her blistered hands caught her, pressing into the soft earth, and the shock of it made her whole body shake.
"Brynn." His hand on her shoulder.
She couldn't look at him.
"I opened it." The words scraped from her throat. "The gateway. Every death flows through his refinery now because I?—"
Her voice broke completely.
"We'll fix it."
His grip tightened. Firm enough to anchor her to something beyond the horror spiraling in her mind.
She looked up at him through tears she hadn't realized were falling.
Blood stained his clothes. Dark against fabric, seeping through from too many wounds. His face was pale, jaw tight with exhaustion. But his expression held no accusation. No blame.
Only certainty.
"We'll fix it," he repeated. "Whatever it takes."
"Every soul," she whispered. "Every death in every realm."
The sob that tore from her chest hurt. Everything hurt. Her burned arm, her blistered palms, her throat raw from screaming. But worse than physical pain was the weight crushing down.
She'd tried to be strong. Tried to prove she was more than just something to protect. And she'd handed him victory.
She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest. Her whole body shook with sobs she couldn't control, couldn't stop, didn't have the strength left to fight.
His arms came around her immediately.
One hand cradling the back of her head. The other wrapped around her back, holding her close while his shadows drew tighter around them both. Creating a cocoon of darkness and safety.
"I destroyed everything," she whispered against bloodstained fabric.
"No." His voice was firm. "Caelum destroyed it. He set the trap. You were trying to save us."
"But I?—"
"Enough." He pulled back to see her face, his hand moving to cup her jaw. His thumb brushed away tears. His dark eyes burned with intensity. "You're exhausted. Hurt. We both are."
Before she could protest, he lifted her. One arm beneath her knees, the other supporting her back.
He was injured. He'd fought through an army. He shouldn't be carrying anything.
But she didn't have the strength left to argue. Didn't have anything left at all.
His shadows wrapped around them as he carried her through palace corridors. Past arched bone and flickering blue flame. Toward his chambers.
She tucked herself against his chest, face buried in his shoulder.
He'd come for her. Fought through thousands of soldiers.
"Stop," he said quietly, as if reading her thoughts.
