Page 73 of Fade With Me

For one suspended moment, he stood completely still, as if the world had frozen around him and he was waiting for it to move first.

“What?!” I blurted, panic clawing at me. “Did he find us?!”

Zeke didn’t answer right away. His voice came out low and breathless, like he was still trying to make sense of it. “Izzy…”

The air shifted, subtle at first, then unmistakable. The sky, once thick with clouds, parted. A thin sliver of sunlight broke through, like the first light of dawn. The wind slowed. The roar beyond the horizon faded, leaving behind a strange, eerie calm.

Zeke’s eyes locked on the sky, his expression tightening like the sight itself hurt. “He’s…he’s been struck.”

There was something raw in his gaze, a kind of pain I hadn’t known he could show. It bled into the silence, thickening the space between us. His fists clenched and unclenched, shoulders tensing like he was ready to run, but didn’t. Couldn’t. A heavy hesitation weighed himdown. His eyes squeezed shut, face twisting, and for a second, he looked like he might collapse. The urge to act was there, trembling through him. But something silent and immovable held him back.

“Go! Help him! I’ll take the path—just give me your keys. I can do this, Zeke. Please.”

His jaw tightened as he stared into the dark stretch of forest, saying nothing. When he finally looked back at me, something shifted, unspoken but certain. His shoulders sagged beneath the weight of what was coming. Then, a faint, bittersweet smile flickered across his face.

“I know you can,” he said, stepping closer. His eyes softened, but his stance remained rigid, like he was bracing for impact. “But it’s too late for that now.”

“No…” The word broke out of me, raw and splintered.

Then came the sound—branches snapping, underbrush crushed beneath fast-moving feet.

“Brynlynn!” The shout cut through the forest like a blade. “You know you can’t hide from me!”

My heart pounded so hard it drowned out thought, my knees threatening to give out. Reggie. He was here. He’d found us.

There was no more running.

This was it. The point of no return.

twenty-four

Ibarely had time to react before Zeke stepped forward, his expression unreadable.

His face held a calm resolve, eerily serene, like he’d already accepted what was coming. That strange stillness might’ve been comforting if it didn’t make my panic feel even more suffocating.

I met his gaze—those ocean-blue eyes I’d memorized a thousand times—and a wave of loss hit so hard, I couldn’t catch my breath. This might be the last time I saw him. And it wasn’t enough. It would neverbe enough.

My knees gave out, and I collapsed, trembling as hot tears streaked down my face.

Zeke dropped beside me, his touch gentle as he lifted my chin. His fingers brushed a stray curl behind my ear, the same way he always had, trying to bring me back to calm. His eyes lingered, soft but full of something deeper. Then he finally spoke.

“I can get us out of here, Bryn. I can take us home.”

“But…what if I don’t go with you?” I stammered, my voice frantic, the crippling fear tightening in my chest. My hands shook as I pressed them to the cold earth beneath me, grounding myself in the dirt as if it could somehow anchor my spiraling thoughts. “What if you’re gone, and Reggie…what if he takes me to some new realm? I’ll be lost forever.”

His body relaxed, and when he spoke, his voice carried no trace of doubt. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. “Then I will come for you. I willalwayscome for you.”

He paused, his gaze locking onto mine—piercing and steady, its pull rendering me motionless. It felt as if he were imprinting that promise deep within my soul.

“I love you, Brynlynn.”

He held out his hand, sure and unwavering, his expression calm, yet filled with quiet certainty. A small, confident smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, like he knew something I didn’t. Something I was too afraid to hope for.

“Fade with me, Bryn?”

In his eyes, there was nothing but peace. The world could burn, could tear itself apart, and he would still be there, offering me a way out, a way to escape it all.

I looked at his outstretched hand, feeling the pull of it like a magnet. It was so strong, so certain. But the calm of the moment felt fragile, at odds with the storm still raging just beyond. I knew what I wanted to do, what Ineededto do, but something in me hesitated. It felt irreversible.

Every second stretched longer than the last. The silence around us grew heavier, pressing down on me, overwhelming me. My breath stalled in my throat as I realized that fading with him wasn’t just about escaping Reggie. It was about trusting him with everything—my life, my fate.

I would have to surrender it all, every part of me, everything I had, into his hands. There would be no turning back.

The fear of that finality wrapped tight around my core, paralyzing me. If I didn’t trust him enough, if I faltered, he couldn’t return. And I would be left here, alone, with nothing but Reggie’s cold promise waiting for me.

My hand hovered, trembling, just inches from his. I clenched my jaw, silencing the doubt that whispered for me to turn away.

And then, despite everything—despite the fear, the uncertainty—

I reached for him.

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