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Chapter Twenty-Seven

C allie

Dawn approaches too quickly. Neither of us has slept—how could we, with this impossible choice looming? I’ve watched Aries pace our small space for hours, his internal struggle playing out in the rigid set of his shoulders, the way his hands clench and release.

“I made you these,” he says finally, breaking hours of heavy silence as he reaches his outstretched palm to me. “I was going to save them for after we succeeded, but…”

He can’t finish the sentence. After . A future that might now be impossible.

My fingers hover over delicate earrings carved into the shape of flames. “When did you find time?”

“During your naps. Dax taught me woodworking, before…” He shrugs, but I understand. Another fragment of the life he’ll have to abandon if he accepts the Committee’s offer.

“I need you to understand something,” he continues, keeping his voice steady despite the storm I can see raging behind his eyes. “I’ve survived many things, Callie. Forced servitude, losing Kren, fifteen annums as a gladiator, and then five annums keeping everyone at a distance. ”

Spark moves closer, bathing us in soothing blue light, as if trying to ease the weight of his words.

“But a life without you, knowing you exist but never being able to see you again?” The thought clearly tears at him. “That’s not survival. That’s just another kind of death.”

“But a real death—” I begin, but he cuts me off.

“Would be preferable to an eternity knowing I gave up what we’ve found.” His hands clench with the effort not to reach for me. “I’ve spent my life making sacrifices I thought were acts of love. Killing Kren to end his suffering. Pushing you away, thinking it would protect you.”

He meets my eyes with devastating honesty. “But true love isn’t about giving up happiness—it’s about fighting for it. I would rather risk death with a chance of a life with you than accept a half-life without you.”

Tears blur my vision. “I can’t bear the thought of you dying because I was selfish enough to want you for myself.”

“Selfish?” The word draws a bitter laugh from him. “Callie, you’ve been willing to sacrifice everything for me from the beginning. Your freedom. Your reputation. Even now, you’d give up your own happiness to guarantee my life.”

“That’s what love is.” The word slipped out before I could stop it.

His breath catches. “Love?”

Heat floods my cheeks, but there’s no taking it back now. “Yes. I love you, Aries. I’ve been fighting it, trying to convince myself it was just the circumstances, just the proximity. But it’s not. It’s you. It’s us.”

Spark erupts between us, showering golden light that drips down on us like firework sparks. Our little companion has been with us through every step of these trials, growing alongside our connection .

“I love you too,” he says, his voice rough with emotion. “And that’s why I can’t take their offer. Do you understand? I would rather risk death with a chance of forever with you than accept guaranteed survival without you.”

The chime announcing the Committee’s arrival interrupts us. All three materialize, their crystalline forms catching the morning light.

“You have reached a decision?” Their multilayered voices fill our small space.

“We have,” Aries answers before I can speak. This has to be his choice, his risk to take. “I respectfully decline your offer.”

Relief and terror war in my chest as I realize what this means.

“We will complete the trials as originally agreed,” I add, my voice steady despite my racing heart.

The Committee members’ faceted eyes shift, colors swirling in their depths. “You understand the risks? The final trials will test not just your connection, but your very will to survive.”

“We understand,” I say firmly. “We choose to face them together.”

Aries reaches across the table toward my hand, hovering just above my skin—a promise of what awaits when we succeed.

“Then let the remaining trials begin,” the Committee intones before fading away.

We sit in the aftermath of our choice, hands almost touching across that familiar gap. A finite number of days left to either prove our love unbreakable or die trying.

“No regrets?” I ask.

His smile holds fierce determination. “Only that we waited so long to find each other. ”

Outside, Sanctorii’s sun climbs higher, marking another day in our countdown. Whatever comes next—whatever trials, whatever dangers—we’ll face them as we’ve learned to face everything.

Together. Without barriers. Without fear.

Some choices aren’t choices at all. Some connections are worth any risk.

And some love stories are worth dying for—or better yet, worth living for.