But I watch them land.
Gray shifts closer—finally touching me, hand on my shoulder, solid and warm. Rhett exhales shakily, his fire flaring oncebefore settling. Jace wipes his face with the back of his hand and doesn’t pretend he wasn’t crying. Theo just nods, like he already knew.
Thane’s shoulders drop. Something in his face loosens—not much, but enough.
And Stellan…
Stellan buries his face in my hair and breathes.
I let them hold me.
For the first time, I don’t feel like a burden they’re carrying.
I feel like the center of something. A circuit. A constellation. All of us connected, all of us holding each other up.
Then my eyes find Riley.
She’s still. Ten feet away. Eyes open, fixed on nothing.
The tears change.
Not quiet anymore. Something deeper. Something that aches in a place I didn’t know I had.
She saved me. Her last breath, her last words—touch her, you idiots—and she saved my life.
My sister.
The one I never got to know. The one who took my place and lived my life. The one who I chose to forgive. Though I’ll never forget. The one who could have been my enemy and chose to be my salvation instead.
Gone.
Gray steps closer. Stellan’s arms tighten. Wes lifts his head, sees where I’m looking, and his hand finds mine.
I don’t have words.
I just cry.
And they let me.
Chapter 7
Rhett
She’s awake.
She’s crying. Talking. Reaching for the others.
She’salive.
The fire in my hands flickers back to life—not wild, not uncontrolled. Steady. Like it’s syncing with her heartbeat.
I watch Stellan hold her. Watch her melt into him, exhausted and tear-streaked and so goddamn beautiful it hurts to look at her.
Even like this. Especially like this.
I almost lost her.
The thought keeps looping. Won’t stop. My fire went out. My hands shook. I put two fingers on her wrist and feltnothingand I thought—
