Bree looks up at me, and we both start laughing at the same time.
“Well,” she says. “That was mortifying.”
“Could’ve been worse.” I kiss her forehead. “Could’ve been Rhett.”
She groans. “Don’t even joke about that.”
I help her down from the counter, and she wobbles slightly on her feet. I steady her, pulling her close again.
“Food,” I say firmly. “And then bed.”
“Bed sounds good.”
“Sleep,” I clarify, even though part of me is already thinking about round two.
She smirks. “If you say so.”
She starts gathering the food she’d abandoned earlier, and I watch her move around the kitchen—my shirt hanging on her frame, hair messy from my hands, that satisfied glow on her skin.
Mine.
Then she stills, head tilting slightly like she’s listening to something I can’t hear.
“Bree?”
She turns to me, and something in her expression has shifted. Alert. Wary.
Outside, thunder rumbles. Closer than before.
“It’s close,” I say quietly. “The storm.”
“I know.” She wraps her arms around herself, and I pull her back against my chest.
“Stay with me tonight, for however long we have,” she whispers.
“Always.”
Thunder rolls again—closer this time.
The storm doesn’t wait anymore.
Chapter 47
Seth
I can’t sleep.
Haven’t been able to for hours now. Everyone else finally crashed after the long day—the Oath Chamber is still running, Feeders streaming through one after another. Exhausting, necessary work.
But I’m too wired. Too aware of what’s coming.
So I sit in the common room, near the window where I can see the road leading up to the Sanctuary. Moonlight filters through the glass, casting everything in silver-blue. The fire had burned down to embers, but I don’t bother stoking it.
I’m not cold.
Just watchful.
The Sanctuary feels different than anywhere I’ve been. There’s a hum to it—like the walls themselves breathe with Ether. I’ve never felt anything like this before. Never felt anything this alive.
