Page 200 of Sage Haven

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And to Klay.

“I’m coming.”

And hell was coming with me.

Because I didn’t care what the ENA did to me after this.

I didn’t care what this cost.

I didn’t care if I didn’t walk away from it.

She was the only thing I gave a fuck about anymore.

And I was going to bring her home.

Even if I had to bury myself to do it.

45

SAGE

Darkness. Cold.

It pressed in from every side, seeping into my bones, stealing what little warmth I had left.

My body didn’t shiver anymore. It was beyond that.

Frozen. Numb.

Silent in a way that felt final.

This had to be it.

The end.

Surely, the universe knew I couldn’t take any more.

Surely, it understood that I wasn’t made to survive this.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t exist.

And maybe that was okay.

Maybe that was all I’d ever been meant for.

To fade away quietly. Forgotten.

To leave no trace. No echo. No mark.

I had fought.

And just when I thought I might have a chance at living again…just when I thought I might be free…my past came for me.

Surging back like a tidal wave of agony and blood and betrayal—crashing over me with the full weight of everything I had clawed my way out of.

Everything I had buried and pretended no longer existed.

But it was still there.

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