The thought twisted her stomach.She'd come here for him, but what if her presence was tearing at the edges of Everstill?What if the veil could sense what was going on between them?
Finn held her tighter, his breath warm against her hair."You didn't do anything wrong," he murmured, but she could hear the strain in his voice.
He was trying to reassure her, but he was wondering too.The thunder rumbled again, closer this time, and the house trembled beneath her feet.
She closed her eyes and clung to him as the storm outside echoed in her chest.Everstill didn't want her here.The veil didn't want her here.The other men didn't want her here.For the first time since she'd arrived, she wondered if coming back for Finn had awakened something that should have stayed asleep.
Chapter 27
Finn
––––––––
Finn grabbed Kallie'shand the moment the second clap of thunder cracked overhead, pulling her toward the door before she could even ask what was going on.She stumbled after him, breathless, trying to keep up as he sprinted down the empty street.He didn't dare look back at the sky.
The static in the thick air signaled the rift's anger.He had to get her as far from the seam as possible.
They reached the feedstore, the farthest building from the veil, and Finn shoved the door open, dragging her inside and slamming it shut behind them.The veil had never acted up at night.Every time Kallie came through, it'd been in daylight.
Kallie squeezed his hand, trying to catch her breath, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.Finn locked the door, then turned to her.Adrenaline pounded through him, and the sight of her trembling made something inside him snap.
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her like he needed her breath to survive.She gasped against his mouth, her hands gripping his shirt, holding on as tightly as he held her.He kissed her again—her mouth, her cheek, her jaw—unable to stop himself, unable to let her go, because the storm outside felt like a countdown he couldn't ignore.
"Finn," she whispered, breathless.
He cupped her face, his forehead pressed to hers, his breath shaky as he tried to speak.She trusted him, and he wouldn't let her down.
"We have to fight this."He cleared his throat."We have to stay together."
The words came out harsher than he'd meant, but the truth behind them burned through him.There wasn't enough information on how to handle the rift.If he died, who would take care of Kallie?
She blinked up at him, confused and scared."Fight what?"
Finn grabbed her waist, pulling her closer, needing her to feel the urgency in him."The rift," he said."It'll separate us if we don't fight it."
No one needed to tell him what was happening.He'd sensed the changes since Kallie arrived.She was supposed to go back.
