His chest tightened.He'd never admitted it to himself before, but the storm outside was proof enough.
Lightning flashed through the feedstore windows, illuminating the shelves in stark white.Kallie flinched and buried her face against his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt.Finn held her tighter, his heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Copper had the only proof that the rift would kill those who lived in Everstill if they tried to leave.Kallie might make it through, but he wouldn't survive.
"Once it separates two people," he whispered into her hair, "there's no getting back together.Ever."
The finality of it made his throat close.Fuck.He couldn't lose her.
She pulled back just enough to look at him."Finn...you're scaring me.I don't understand why it's trying to break us up," she said, her voice cracking.
He brushed his thumb along her cheek, trying to calm her even as panic clawed at him."The thunder.The lightning.That's the rift.It's angry we're together."
Another thunderclap shook the building, louder this time, and Kallie jumped, clutching him as if the world might split open beneath them.Finn wrapped both arms around her, holding her as close as he could, his lips brushing her temple in a desperate attempt to soothe her.He didn't know how to explain it any better—he only knew the rift wanted her gone.
He pressed his forehead to hers again, breathing her in."I'm not letting it take you.I don't care what it wants.It won't get you."
The storm rumbled again, but he didn't look away from her.She was the only thing that mattered.The only thing that felt real.The only thing in his life worth fighting for.
Kallie trembled in his arms, her breath uneven, her fingers locked on him."What if we can't fight it?"she whispered.
He cupped her face again, forcing her to meet his eyes, his voice low and certain."We can," he said."We have to."
Because losing her wasn't something he could survive.
There had to be a reason why she'd come to him as a child and then again as a teenager.She'd fought damn hard to find her way back to him.He wasn't going to let her get away.
Finn pulled Kallie deeper into the feedstore as the storm raged outside, the wind slamming into the walls hard enough to rattle the shelves.She stumbled beside him, gripping his arm as thunder cracked overhead, as if the sky were splitting open.He didn't slow down.He needed her as far from the seam as possible.The fear clawing at his chest only made him more determined.
He led her into the back room, the one place no one ever went, where he'd hidden the wooden boards he used to carve the number of days that had passed, so he wouldn't lose himself after she left Everstill each time.
She looked around at the stacks of dusty crates and the rows of tally marks leaning against the wall, confusion flickering across her face.He watched her take it all in.This was the proof of only a fraction of the time he'd been trapped here.
The wind howled, shaking the building so violently that dust rained from the rafters.Kallie flinched, pressing herself against him, her hands fisting in his shirt.He wrapped his arms around her instantly, pulling her close and kissing her hair, her forehead, her cheeks, and anywhere he could reach.
Emotions he hadn't even remembered were pulled out of him, leaving him raw and terrified.
He knew how to protect her from other people.But what was he supposed to do against something that was big enough to move people from one dimension to another?
"Kallie."He breathed as lightning flashed through the cracks in the boards.
She looked up at him, and he kissed her again.His hands shook with a desperation he hadn't felt before.As if she were a drug he needed to stay alive.She gave him the same intensity back, her fingers sliding into his hair, and the storm outside roared louder, as if it could sense the fire between them.
Thunder exploded overhead, shaking the entire building, and Kallie gasped, burying her face against his chest.He held her as tightly as he dared, kissing the top of her head.The storm wasn't letting up.If anything, it was getting worse.The walls groaned under the force of the wind.
Finn pressed his forehead to hers, his breath ragged."Whatever you do, don't let go of me," he whispered."Hold on as tight as you can.You're mine.I won't let it take you."The last word slipped out before he could stop it, raw and possessive.Kallie's breath hitched in response.He didn't take it back.He couldn't.Not when the world outside was trying to rip her from him.
A violent gust slammed into the feedstore, making the entire structure shudder.Kallie screamed, clinging to him.Panic clutched at his throat.If the building gave way or the rift reached them, he wasn't sure he could fight it.
The back door burst open, slamming into the wall, and Finn spun around, pulling Kallie behind him.Copper stood in the doorway, soaked by the rain, his expression sharper than Finn had ever seen it.
"You both need to come with me."Copper motioned for him to follow."Now, if you want any chance of remaining together."
Finn didn't hesitate.He grabbed Kallie's hand and followed.
