My fingers flex at my sides, little sparks flickering unconsciously beneath my skin.
“I don’t want Bellrose to stay…this,” I admit quietly. “Not anymore. I just…” I turn to face Reese and immediately feel a little better just at the sight of him. “I’m probably going to need help though. With everything. Especially figuring out how to run a morally questionable superpowered death laboratory.”
That gets a real laugh out of him, low and warm.
God, I love that sound.
“I think we can manage,” he says.
We.
Notyou.
The knot in my chest loosens a little more. It’s nice to feel like I’m not alone. I spent a long time feeling that way, but now I have Reese. Even Harrison and Lane. I don’t know if they would’ve been able to survive this battle, but maybe now they could help like they offered.
Reese steps closer until his body brushes mine, and the rest of the lobby fades a little around the edges. Mia yells at someone. More glass breaks. The smell of smoke and ozone and blood drift through the air. All of it suddenly feels distant compared to the warmth of him standing beside me.
“I meant what I said earlier.”
I arch my brow at him in question. “Which emotionally devastating declaration are we talking about? There have been several.”
A faint smirk pulls at his mouth. “I’ll follow you anywhere. Always.”
My throat tightens, and I have to look away before my face can betray me too much. I stare very hard at a random piece of broken glass on the floor. “I hope you’re happy.”
“Why?”
“Because now I’m having emotions again.”
He laughs once more, pulling my eyes back to him. His smile is fucking beautiful, and I realize now what a rare sight it is. I want to see it all the fucking time.
Even though he laughs, I know he sees right through it. Right through me. I think he always has. It’s easier to grin through pain, to make a sarcastic comment than admit something hurts or matters or terrifies the hell out of me. But maybe with Reese, I don’t have to hide behind all of that anymore, pretend that’s all there is to me.
Am I going to change? Fuck no.
But I think I’m okay with him seeing more.
Reese’s fingers brush lightly along my jaw, his eyes holding mine. “I don’t want you to hide them, Cason.”
My throat tightens all over again because it feels as though he’s read my mind.
His shadows slide slowly around us, curling tighter and tighter until they wrap around both our bodies like livingdarkness. It’s not scary or suffocating. It’s protective and possessive.
Safe.
“I want all of it,” he says, resting his forehead against mine. “The good parts. The ugly parts. The things that hurt. The things that bring you joy or scare you or piss you off. I want you to feel everything with me.”
I don’t stand a fucking chance.
Electricity sparks softly beneath my skin where my hands settle against Reese’s chest, blue-white light flickering against black shadow.
Two dangerous things. Two ruined things.
And standing here in the wreckage of everything that tried to destroy us, I think I finally understand something.
Ascension does reveal who you really are.
Because I crossed Pulse Zero and came back wanting one thing more than I already did, just louder, deeper, stronger than I ever had before. One thing I would willingly burn the entire fucking world down for.
