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They just shield.

We make it inside untouched.

A short while later, the hotel suite is dim and quiet, the hush broken only by the soft roll of waves outside and the whisper of wind against the windows. I’m lying face-down on the bed, muscles locked, nerves still frayed. My jaw aches from clenching. My throat’s raw from holding back too many words. I’m trying to breathe, but everything inside me is tangled too tight.

Then—

Warmth.

Strong, familiar hands find my back. Blaise. His touch is slow, deliberate, grounding. He straddles my thighs and begins to work, kneading into the knots like he’s mapping every inch of my tension with reverence, not just force.

Dane settles beside me, his fingers stroking slowly through my hair, again and again, never rushing. Xar brushes soft kisses along my shoulder, his hand curved gently over my hip like a promise. I’m encased in their warmth. Surrounded. Held.

“Breathe, baby,” Dane murmurs, his voice a balm. “Let it go.”

Their purring starts – low and steady, layered over one another like a lullaby made for my bones. The bond hums beneath my skin in answer, soft and golden and unshakeable. I begin to come undone, piece by piece, surrendering to them in the quiet.

After a long moment, Blaise speaks.

“I used to numb out,” he says softly, voice catching on the edge of confession. “The press say I have addictions, but mostly I was just a twat. I didn’t know how to handle the fame at first, and then the silence. Later, the failure. I drank. Got high. Did worse. Broke three guitars and almost walked away from everything.”

I lift my head, turning slightly to look at him. “I didn’t know,” I whisper.

He doesn’t look away. “I was spiralling. Pretending I wasn’t hurt, like I didn’t care. But I did. Too much. I didn’t know how to sit in the ache without trying to drown it.”

Xar’s voice comes from behind me, low and wry. “He didn’t really want to go. Just needed someone to call his bluff.”

Blaise lets out a faint laugh, no real humor in it. “Yeah. And you did. Dragged me back, told me to quit being a dramatic little bitch and pick up my bass.”

“You listened,” Dane murmurs.

“I did,” Blaise nods. “Eventually. But it took time. And then I fucked up agin. Kept fucking up with Lena – putting herfirst, before the band, believing her toxic bullshit and lies over the truth of my family. Took me nearly losing everything to realise I was just running from myself. Lena was a smokescreen, someoneto numb the pain this time. A good time to stop me from having to look at myself too closely because I knew all I’d find was bitterness and regrets.”

His eyes find mine again, darker now, softer. “I wanted you to know. In case I ever seem too much. Too intense. Like I’m not all the way steady. I’ve worked hard to feel again, Evie. And now…I want to feel everything. With you.”

My throat tightens. I reach for his hand and guide it to my chest, pressing it over my heart.

“You already have me,” I whisper. “All of me. Whatever you need – I’ll be here.”

His hand spreads over my ribs, wide and steady. “I know. You already are.”

The quiet stretches between us – not heavy, not awkward. Just full. Safe.

Outside, the wind howls softly against the glass. Inside, I’m held by them. Anchored by them.

Xar leans down to kiss the curve of my neck. Dane’s hand never stops stroking my hair. Blaise keeps his palm pressed to my chest like it’s the only thing tethering him to earth.

I don’t know when my eyes close, only that I feel them around me – like shelter, like prayer, like everything I’ve ever longed for.

And for the first time since that flashbulb popped, since the world tried to peel back the skin I’d only just grown?—

I believe them when they say I’m safe.

When they say everything will be fine.

Because in this moment, wrapped in their scent, their touch, their love?—

It finally is.