“I dislike anything that hurts you.” My throat closed. Stars. This man.
I slid my hands beneath his jacket and held onto him tightly, needing the solid warmth of him beneath my palms.
“What if this is it?” I whispered before I could stop myself.
The words hung painfully between us. For once, Thyros did not dismiss the fear with arrogance or bravado. His forehead lowered slowly against mine. “Then I will spend whatever time remains loving you.”
The simplicity of it shattered me. I closed my eyes. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
His voice was rough now. Raw. “If the universe burns tomorrow, then tonight you are still mine. And I am still yours.”
Emotion crashed through the bond so hard I could barely breathe around it. I pulled back just enough to look at him. Theman born from darkness. The man who had believed himself a flaw. But all I could see was light.
“You know what’s funny?” I whispered.
“Hm?”
“I think Ashera would approve of you.”
A startled laugh escaped him softly. “Only think?”
I smiled through tears. “She’d adore you.”
Something vulnerable flickered across his face again. Then he cupped my jaw carefully. “Naeris.” The way he said my name felt sacred. “If this ends badly…”
“No.”
His grip tightened slightly. “Let me finish.”
Reluctantly, I nodded.
His eyes searched mine with terrifying intensity. "If this ends badly, I need you to know something.”
Fear twisted sharply inside me. But his expression softened. “You made my existence worth it.”
The tears finally spilled over.
“Oh, stars,” I whispered brokenly. “Thyros?—”
“All my life,” he continued quietly, “I believed I came from corruption. From failure. But then I found you.” His thumb brushed across my cheek gently. “And suddenly, every moment inside the Abyss had purpose.”
I kissed him before he could say anything else. Desperately. Tenderly. Like I could somehow pour every feeling inside me into the touch.
He kissed me back with devastating softness. No battle hunger. No urgency. Just love.
When we finally parted, he rested his forehead against mine once more.
Outside the viewport, distant stars drifted silently through the darkness. Just for one fragile moment before the end of everything, the universe felt impossibly still.
This will not end badly.
The certainty settled inside me like forged steel as the ship plunged once more into the depths of Nox Eternum. It wasn't my arrogance telling me this, nor was it denial. It was purpose.
For the first time since my creation, I understood exactly why I existed. Not as a mistake. Not as corruption. But as survival. As hope dragged screaming out of the Abyss itself.
Beside me, Naeris sat strapped into the co-pilot seat, one hand braced against the console as the ship shuddered violently beneath us. Her dark curls floated slightly around her face whenever the gravity stabilizers faltered.
