Page 20

Lucien
We set up camp in the ruins of something ancient. The Hollow doesn’t have real shelter, just jagged remnants of what once existed before this place was carved out of reality. The land stretches into the void, broken pillars jutting from the ground like shattered bones, blackened stone that hums with something long-dead.
It doesn’t matter. It will have to be enough.
Elias and I work in silence, but I can feel his unease, sharp as a blade. He’s done everything he can, burned through his energy trying to keep her body from thrashing, tried to soothe whatever storm is tearing through her mind, but it isn’t enough.
It’s not even close.
Luna still shudders in her sleep, her breath shallow, uneven. Every few minutes, another wave of pain racks through her, her body curling in on itself, her fingers twitching like she’s reaching for something she can’t grasp. For him.
Riven’s pain is pouring through the bond, raw and unrelenting.
And I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the way she jerks in agony, how her lips part in a soundless sob, how even though her body is still now, her face is wet.
She’s crying. Even in sleep, the pain doesn’t leave her.
Elias crouches beside her, watching, mouth pressed into a firm line. Then, after a long moment, he exhales and mutters, "I hate this."
I kneel beside her, reaching out, letting my fingers hover over her wrist. Her pulse is too fast. Her skin is damp with sweat, strands of hair stuck to her temple, her breaths shallow and hitched.
This isn’t just the bond reacting. This is her. Her body, her mind, her soul breaking under the weight of it. I press my palm to her forehead, reaching for my power. Pushing it into her. Searching for something to grasp, some way to sever the pain, to force her body to recognize that it isn’t hers.
But pain doesn’t yield. Pain doesn’t bow to logic. It supersedes everything. And when I try to force it down, she jerks violently, a strangled breath tearing from her throat, her fingers clenching into the dirt like she’s trying to escape.
"Fuck." I grit my teeth, drawing my power back before it makes things worse.
Elias exhales sharply, dragging a hand down his face. "Well, that didn’t work."
No. It didn’t. It won’t. Not until she learns how to shut the bond off.
I stare at her, body still trembling, jaw tight. "We can’t let this happen again."
Elias scoffs, shaking his head. "Yeah, no shit."
I ignore him. "She has to learn how to block it out. Or she won’t survive this."
And neither will we.
Elias quiets, his usual bravado gone, replaced with something heavier.
I glance at him. "Can you do anything?"
His expression hardens. "You think I haven’t already tried?"
I do know.
Elias might not take much seriously, but this? This is different. He’s been trying to pull her under properly, trying to force the pain out of her dreams, but it isn’t working. Because the agony isn’t just in her mind. It’s in her bones. And it’s not letting go.
Another broken whimper escapes her lips, and I can’t fucking take it anymore.
I reach for her again, gripping her wrist this time, ignoring the slick heat of her skin. "Luna," I murmur, voice lower, firm, but careful. "You have to let go. You have to. "
Her breath hitches. Her body still shudders.
Another tear rolls down her cheek.
And I swear, I will burn this fucking world to the ground if she doesn’t wake up.