Each silent accusation landed like a blade, carving deeper with every second that passed. My jaw tightened, but I didn’t look away. I couldn’t. Not with her slipping further from me with every shallow breath.
“She’ll die, Calix.” The words came out quieter this time, but they hit just as hard.
“Is that what you want?” My throat worked as I forced the rest out. Guilt was the wrong emotion to push onto him, but it was the only thing I could grasp onto. “For her to go cold… and for me to be nothing after she’s gone?”
His hands curled into fists at his sides, tendons pulling tight as he took a step toward me like he was going to fight me right here. If he wanted to do that later, I would accept it, but only after he changed her.
“Do you even understand what you’re asking?” His voice came out strained, like he was holding something back by sheer force.
I nodded once. Slow. Certain.
“I do.”
My fingers tightened again around hers as I leaned forward just slightly, like I could will him to see it, to feel my acceptance.
“I’ve never asked you for anything.” I was aware of how sharp, how desperate, I sounded, but I didn’t care. “Not once. But I’m asking now.”
Silence stretched again.
Long enough that I could hear her breathing falter behind me. Long enough that something in my chest started to crack.
Then he moved. Fast.
His hands went to his shirt, yanking it over his head in one sharp motion before tossing it aside without looking. His jaw was set tight, eyes already shifting back to her as he stepped forward.
“Move,” he said, his voice clipped, strong. “I’ll need that spot.”
I stepped back immediately, giving him the space he needed, even though something bitter and heavy was settling low in my chest. It was a familiar motion, stepping aside for him, making room. I’d done it my whole life.
For the Syndicate. For him. But this time… I did it forher.
I circled to the other side of the bed, my eyes never leaving her as he took my place.
Calix leaned over her, close enough that his hair brushed forward, shadowing his expression. Just before he lowered himself further, his gaze flicked up to mine.
“You sure you want to be here for this?” he asked, something quieter threading through his voice now. “You know how this ends. How this process is done and what naturally happens.”
I swallowed, but I didn’t look away. Didn’t even think about it.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, steady this time. “No matter what happens.”
14
CALIX
The second I stepped into my room, the scent hit me. Blood, thick and heavy, too much. Wrong.
It clung to the air, drowning out everything else, and my steps faltered for half a beat as something in my chest tightened. I didn’t understand it yet, not fully, but my body did. It knew before my mind caught up.
Then I saw her.
Via lay across my bed, too still, her skin already losing that warmth I’d memorized without meaning to. Even from where I stood, I could feel it. Her pulse, faint and slipping, like it was retreating from the world inch by inch.
The soft, sweet rose scent that always seemed to follow her… It was barely there now.
Everything inside me locked.
For a second, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. My gaze stayed fixed on her, trying to force reality to shift into something that made sense, something that didn’t look like this.
