Page 136 of Veil of Dust

Our fingers touch again.

“Always,” I say.

She meets my eyes. And I know she believes me.

The room glows with lantern light. Her eyes catch the reflection—warm, golden.

It settles something in me.

For all the blood, the risk, the weight we’ve carried—we’re still here. Still fighting. But not just to survive.

To live.

And we are.

We’re still hunted. I know that. The shadows haven’t disappeared. But they don’t own us anymore.

They don’t get to write this part.

The bar stands because we made it stand.

Because she made it stand.

She was never mine to save. Just mine to stand beside.

And I will.

Always.

The sounds from outside drift in—the river, the insects, the hum of the city. It all blends into the music, into the bar’s low thrum.

Vespera’s still holding my hand. Still looking at me like she knows exactly what I’m thinking.

And she’s right.

I’m here.

With her.

For good.

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