He holds himself back with a kind of rigid control that makes it clear this is not about distance for distance’s sake. It’s about something else.
Like he’s trying to keep me out of this part of their world. He wants me close, but not in it.
The realization settles into me slowly.
He’s not just protecting me from what’s outside.
He’s trying to protect me from them too.
Or maybe from what they are when things get like this.
“Ryder?” I say softly.
His jaw shifts once. “Aurora.”
He steps in a little closer, not enough to close the space entirely, but enough that I can feel the shift.
“We need to get this over and done with,” he says.
Finn huffs a breath. “You say that like I’m choosing to be dramatic.”
“You’re bleeding on the floor,” Ryder replies flatly.
“I can do other things.”
Zane shakes his head, already reaching for the duffel. I push myself to my feet, a little too quickly, and the world tilts before settling again.
“I’m fine,” I say.
Three different expressions tell me no one believes that.
Ryder’s is sharp, unimpressed.
Zane’s is clinical.
Finn’s is somewhere between concern and amusement.
“I’m standing,” I add, which feels like a valid argument.
Zane doesn’t bother responding.
Finn starts to stand and nearly regrets it halfway through. I’m at his side before I can think about it, my hand sliding around his arm instinctively.
“I’ve got you,” I say.
He stills for a fraction of a second.
Then he lets some of his weight settle into me, just enough that I can feel it, just enough that it changes the space between us into something quieter and real.
“Careful,” he murmurs, softer now. “I’m a lot.”
“I’ve noticed,” I reply.
Zane moves in on his other side without a word, efficient as always, and together we guide Finn toward the workbench. Ryder watches the whole thing—every step, every shift, every vulnerability—like he’s already deciding what it means.
Time blurs into something strange and stretched, and the adrenaline has worn off enough to leave everything else behind.
Finn is patched up as well as he can be for now, propped against the wall with Zane rechecking the bandage. Ryder stepped out a few minutes ago, saying something about speaking to someone he knows.
