Page 190 of Buried in Blood

I’ve seen Lucien tear men apart with a smile—and I’ve seen him get on his knees in front of Astra like she’s something sacred. That man worships her. And she? She lets him. She lets him love her in the only way he knows how—brutal, relentless, raw.

They found their rhythm.

And now? They’re healing.

Finally.

Then there’s Harmony.

Sweet, silent, burning Harmony.

Istill remember the day she walked into our first class together. Eyes down. Shoulders sharp with tension. Like she didn’t expect to survive the week.

But she did.

And she didn’t just survive—shefought.

She became somethingnew. Something terrifying and beautiful.

And then… there’sReese.

I was afraid of him once. We all were.

But then I saw the way he looked at her.

Not like she was fragile. Not like she was ruined.

Like she was fire he couldn’t stop walking into.

He held her after the shooting. Cried over her in front of everyone. And when she woke up, he didn’t run. Hestayed. He stayed through the guilt, through the aftermath, through the rebuilding.

I don’t know if either of them will ever want the kind of life most people dream of—but I think they found the only thing that matters.

Each other.

And Damien…

I close my eyes.

Breathe in the cool night air leaking through the open window.

He’sgone.

Really, truly gone.

I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore.

Don’t have to worry about the sound of footsteps that don’t belong.

He won’t touch another girl. He won’t break another soul. He won’t hurt Harmony ever again.

He’s rotting in the ground, and I’m glad.

Iam. No guilt. No shame. Just fuckingrelief.

Because the shadow that haunted all of us is finallygone.

And in its place?