Then I turn to Darian once more.
For the first time, his face isn’t stone cold or void of emotion. The anger is still there, simmering beneath the surface, but it’s tangled with something else—grief, dread, desperation. Not for me. But for the two people he can’t protect this time.
“Do everything you can to save them.”
He doesn’t say the rest. He doesn’t have to.
Even if it kills you.
And I nod—because I will. No matter how much anger he threw at me, no matter how many times he tried to convince himself I was the villain in his story… he still wanted me to save them. Still needed me to win.
Even if it meant breaking whatever was left of me to do it.
Even if it meant losing myself entirely.
I leave them all behind, each step heavier than the last, the weight of their lives pressing into my spine like a blade. Behind me, I hear Drew shouting my name, raw and desperate, but I know Darian was holding him back.
But I didn’t dare look back.
Because if I did, I might fall apart completely.
And I didn’t have the luxury of breaking.
Not when everyone depended on me holding it together.
Chapter 27
DARIAN
Watching her walk away was harder than I ever let myself imagine.
My mind's a storm I can’t shut out, every thought hissing the same thing. Leave her. Let her bleed. Let them all die. The fury, the bitterness, the voices I've tried to ignore—they're tearing free, whispering that she's the fracture ripping everything to pieces.
But my heart—traitorous and aching—was at war with every cruel thought.
Because when I look at her, I don’t see danger. I saw the white-haired girl who talked too fast, laughed too loudly, and loved watching the stars. And for a moment, I wish I could hate her the way I pretend to, or think I do. But I never could. Not really.
I don’t have a lot of time before Vespera realises I am gone—but I couldn’t stay there and listen to Ronan’s and Kieran’s screams in her version of a dungeon. I tried to help them, but something was stopping me. No matter how hard I tried fighting with myself to stop her from hurting them, I couldn’t.
Then, when I saw her guards and some of the hunters leave, I knew they were heading for the twins.
I didn’t think. I just ran until Sera stopped me, with that smug expression and asking for a second round. The only fuckingreason I ever touched her was to distract her from telling Vespera, but she still betrayed me.
Her loyalty was always to Vespera. Just like mine was. For years, I followed orders because my hatred for vampires was greater than anything else, and as much as I wanted her dead, there was no way.
Kill the witch.
The whispers were constant, but I forced myself to block them out. Drew moved forward, shouting her name, ready to run after her.
I get it. Because she mattered. She still does. Freckles is the kind of light people don't realise they're starving for until it's gone. She carried her own demons, no question, but even when she thought she was hiding them, I saw. I always saw. That's what happens when someone means more than they should—you learn to read the cracks they try to bury.
And I fucking hate how well I understand it. I hate that I remember every little thing about her.
My arms clamp around him, iron-tight, as he thrashes and fights to break free. I can't let him go after her—not when she's already long gone, leaving nothing but the ghost of cherries and vanilla in the air and this crushing weight lodged deep in my soul.
I should’ve felt relief. Instead, it felt like drowning.
“She’s going to get herself killed, Dar! Get her back!” Drew yells, shoving into me, panic in his voice.
