?Chapter 306:

“Ryder,” I whisper against his lips, my forehead resting on his. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

Something cracks in his eyes, and suddenly, he’s pulling me onto hisp, his arms wrapping around me like he’s afraid I might disappear. I won’t. I can’t. His lips trail down my neck, each kiss burning away the cold sweat of panic still clinging to him. I pull my shirt over my head, never breaking eye contact.

By the goddess, I needed him to be fine.

There’s no fear in me, no hesitation. Just trust. Trust that he needs this, that we need this.

He kisses me again, deeper, fiercer, and I meet him with everything I have. Clothes fall away, skin meets skin, and we move together in a rhythm that’s raw, desperate, and healing. Every touch, every gasp, every shiver is a reminder that we’re here, we’re alive, and we’re not giving up.

I’m definitely not giving up on him. No, not with how he stood by me, fought with me. We’re definitely in this together. His pain was my pain, his ache, my ache.

Each thrust was a relief that he was getting better. That he was back to being Ryder. The Ryder I knew—fierce, bold, and strong.

When we finally copse onto the bed, tangled together, his body is still trembling, but there’s a quietness in him now. The storm has passed, for the moment. I can…

I feel his heartbeat slowing, his breaths evening out. I trail my fingers over his chest, tracingzy patterns, grounding him, grounding us.

“I love you,” he whispers, the words slipping out like a confession, a surrender. My heart swells, a soft smile curving my lips.

“I love you too,” I whisper back, meaning it with every fiber of my being.

He presses a kiss to my temple, his arms tightening around me. I know there’s more he’s not saying, secrets he’s still keeping. But for now, that’s okay. We’ll get there.

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For now, I’m here. And so is he. And that’s enough.

Ryder’s POV

The darkness is suffocating. Thick, dense, a tar-like void that ws at my lungs and drags me under.

I’m standing in the middle of a cold, empty forest. A fog seeps through the trees, swirling around my ankles like it’s alive. The air is sharp, each breath like shards of ss in my chest. But none of thatpares to the weight in my gut, that gnawing dread that tells me I shouldn’t be here. That something wrong’s waiting for me.

And then I see him—Aiden.

My twin.

He’s lying there, sprawled on the forest floor, his body twisted in an unnatural angle. The life that once danced in his eyes is gone, reced by a nk, vacant stare. Blood pools beneath him, the scent sharp and metallic, mixing with the cold air.

My knees give out, and I fall beside him. The world narrows to just the two of us, the edges of reality fraying and darkening. My hands hover above him, shaking. I want to touch him, to wake him up, to pull him back from whatever hell he’s fallen into.

But he’s gone.

And it’s my fault.

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