Page 46 of Crown of the Mist (The Ether Chronicles #1)

The tears have run dry, leaving me hollow but somehow lighter.

I keep my face pressed against Theo's neck, his steady heartbeat anchoring me as I register the others' presence.

They've arranged themselves around us like a constellation - each in their own space but connected, the mist drifting between them like stardust.

I should feel trapped. Overwhelmed. But their quiet strength wraps around me like a blanket, and for once, I let myself be held. Let myself be seen.

"I heard you," I whisper finally, my voice rough from crying. "That night in the attic. When Gray said..." I swallow hard, forcing the words out. "When he said I was something to be used and discarded."

The temperature in the room drops slightly as five bodies go rigid. The mist pulses, responding to their sudden tension.

"No." Gray's voice is sharp with something that sounds like pain.

"God, Bree, no. That's not..." He exhales heavily.

"I was talking about how your father and Phil saw you.

How they treated you. It made me sick, knowing they'd made you feel worthless when you're..." He stops, his voice cracking. "When you're everything."

I lift my head slightly from Theo's shoulder, just enough to see Gray's face in the dim light. His usual sharp edges are softer now, raw with an emotion I've never let myself see before.

"We were angry," Wes says quietly from his spot by the window. "Angry that they hurt you. That they made you doubt your worth. That they made you think you had to run from us."

Jace leans forward, his usual playful demeanor stripped away. "You didn't hear the whole conversation, love. You didn't hear how we..." He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. "How we've all been in love with you since we were kids."

The words hit something inside me, stealing my breath. I feel Theo's arms tighten around me, grounding me as my world tilts on its axis.

"What?" The word comes out barely audible.

"All of us," Rhett says from his spot near our feet. His green eyes burn with intensity as they meet mine. "Always you. Only you."

I shake my head, trying to make sense of what they're saying. "But that's not... you can't all..."

"Why not?" Theo's voice rumbles against my cheek where it's pressed to his chest. "Why can't we all love you? We already do."

The mist swirls higher, wrapping around each of them in turn before settling over us like a blanket. It feels different now - warmer, more alive. Like it's been waiting for this moment.

"I don't understand," I whisper, even as something deep inside me shifts, awakens. "How could you want... this?" I gesture vaguely at myself, at all my broken pieces.

"Because you're ours," Gray says simply, the words carrying the weight of years of certainty. "You always have been."

My fingers grip the hem of Rhett's hoodie, a bitter laugh escaping me. "You don't even know... haven't seen..." I take a shaky breath. "The scars. What he did to me. What they all did."

"We know," Wes says softly, his dark eyes intense. "We've always known."

"No." I shake my head against Theo's chest. "Not all of them. Not... not how ugly..."

"Stop." Gray's voice cuts through my spiral, firm but gentle. He moves from the wall, kneeling beside Theo's chair so he can meet my eyes. "Those scars? They're not ugly. They're proof you survived. Proof you're stronger than anyone I've ever known."

Theo's hand slides to my arm, his thumb brushing over the raised scar near my elbow - the one from the bottle. His touch is feather-light, reverent. "Every mark tells a story of what you overcame," he murmurs. "How could that ever be anything but beautiful?"

"I remember," Rhett says, his voice rough with emotion, "the day you got this one.

" His fingers ghost over my shoulder, where the jagged scar curves like a crescent moon.

"You still came to my track meet. Sat in the bleachers even though I knew you were in pain. Because you promised you'd be there."

"You wore long sleeves in summer," Jace adds quietly, all his usual humor replaced with something deeper. "But sometimes, when you thought no one was looking, you'd roll them up. Like you were reminding yourself you were still here. Still fighting."

Tears blur my vision again as their words sink in. They've known. All this time, they've known and still...

"Every scar," Wes says, his quiet voice carrying in the stillness, "is a battle you won. Every mark is proof that you chose to live. To stay. Even when it would have been easier not to."

"We love all of you," Theo whispers against my hair. "Every scar. Every fear. Every piece you try to hide because you think it makes you unlovable." His arms tighten around me. "They make you you. And you're..."

"Perfect," Gray finishes, his green eyes fierce with conviction. "Not because you're unbroken. But because you're real. Because you're ours."

The mist pulses around us, warm and alive, as something inside me finally, finally breaks free. Not the jagged, painful kind of breaking - but like a bird taking flight, like chains falling away, like...

Like coming home.

"I don't know how to do this," I whisper, my voice rough from crying. "How to let myself have this. Have... all of you."

"You already do," Gray says softly from his spot against the wall. "You always have."

Theo's hand slides up my back, grounding me as I process their words. The genuine love in their eyes - not pity, not obligation, but real, steady love - makes my chest ache.

"Tell me," I say finally, forcing myself to be brave. "When did you know? That you..." I can't finish, but they understand.

"Third grade," Jace says immediately, a ghost of his usual grin touching his lips. "You punched Tommy Miller for making fun of my stutter. Stood there all fierce and tiny, daring anyone else to try something." His eyes soften. "That's when I knew you were it for me."

"The night of the storm," Wes adds quietly. "Senior year. The power went out and you showed up at my door with flashlights and that ratty blanket. Just sat with me until the thunder stopped." He looks down at his hands. "You knew I was afraid but never made me feel weak for it."

Rhett shifts slightly, his green eyes intense.

"For me it was that night at the hospital, junior year.

You'd been taking care of Mrs. Reynolds all week during your volunteer shifts, reading to her when no one else would visit.

When she passed..." His voice softens. "You stayed with her.

Held her hand so she wouldn't be alone. That's when I knew - your heart, your capacity to care even when it hurts.

.. that's when I fell in love with you."

"For me it was gradual," Theo murmurs against my hair.

"All those quiet moments in the library.

The way you'd get lost in books, finding escape in stories.

How you'd share the good parts with me, your eyes lighting up as you described them.

" His arms tighten slightly. "I fell in love with your soul piece by piece. "

Gray is last, his sharp gaze holding mine. "I knew the first time I heard you crying through our shared wall. You were trying so hard to be quiet, to be strong." He swallows hard. "I knocked - three taps, remember? And you tapped back. That's when I knew I'd spend my life trying to protect you."

Tears slip down my cheeks again, but they feel different now. Lighter. Like finally letting go of something heavy I've been carrying.

"I don't..." I take a shaky breath. "I don't know if I can be what you all deserve."

"You already are," Wes says simply.

"Just by being you," Rhett adds softly.

"By surviving," Gray continues.

"By staying," Theo whispers.

"By letting us love you," Jace finishes.

The mist pulses around us, warm and alive, as something deep inside me finally, finally clicks into place. Like a key turning in a lock I didn't know existed. Like coming home to a place I've been searching for my whole life.

I'm not fixed. Not whole. Not yet. But here, surrounded by their steady love, their quiet strength, I feel something I've never let myself feel before.

Hope.