Page 181 of Evermore

“Archer!” My scream seemed to come from somewhere outside of myself.

He fell to his knees, then collapsed backward onto the stone path. His blood spread beneath him, dark and unstoppable. Nothing else mattered. Not Aeris. Not her knife. Not her triumphant smile. Not Minnie as she surged for the evil goddess. Only him. Always him. My light.

I crashed to my knees beside him, pressing my hands over the wound as if I could force his life back inside through sheer will. Blood welled between my fingers, hot and slick and relentless. Too much blood. Far too much.

“No, no, no,” I chanted, a desperate prayer to uncaring gods. “You look at me, Archer Bramwell. Don’t you dare close your eyes. Please, Archer. Please stay with me.”

Quill threw herself down beside us, her small hands frantically patting his face. “Archie! Archie, wake up! You can’t sleep now!”

His eyelids fluttered, finding mine with painful clarity despite the life draining from them. “Paesha,” he whispered, my name a broken sound on bloody lips.

“Don’t…” I begged, pressing harder on the wound. My heart hammered against my ribs, threatening to shatter them. “Save your strength. We’ll get help. We’ll fix this. Just hold on.”

But we both knew it was a lie. The blade had pierced his heart.Hisheart. The one that loved so hard it hurt. The one so pure, the world didn’t deserve it. No one did. And no healer could undo this damage. No power could mend what was broken.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth when he tried to smile. “Not how… I planned to spend… my night.”

A laugh that was half sob escaped me. “Only you would joke now, you impossible man.”

Quill clutched his hand, her tears falling onto his face like rain. “You can’t go! You promised we’d bake a cake tomorrow! You said—” Her voice broke. “You said you’d dance with me at the summer ball! I have a blue dress that matches your eyes. I have a blue dress.”

Archer’s gaze shifted to her, infinite tenderness replacing the pain in his eyes for a moment. “Rain check… on that dance… Pencil.”

“No! No rain checks!” Quill’s voice rose to a wail. “You need to stay! We need you! I need you. You’re mine. And I’m yours. You said, Archie. You said!”

I felt the familiar sting behind my eyes, the lump in my throat. The burn of unrelenting heartache. “I’ll fall, Toes. I’ll fall if you’re not here to catch me. Gods. Please.”

“I’ll be so good,” Quill promised. “I’ll never use my magic again and I’ll take my baths and I’ll make sure Boo never steals anything from the kitchen. I’ll go to bed when I’m supposed to and I’ll never sass back again. I’ll do that for you, okay. Okay?” Those giant eyes of hers, full of tears flashed to me. “Why isn’t he answering?”

He lifted a trembling hand to touch her cheek, but the strength was already leaving him. His fingers barely grazed her skin before falling back to the ground.

I couldn’t breathe. My throat closed around words that wouldn’t matter, pleas that wouldn’t be answered. The tears burning down my face felt like acid, etching permanent tracks of grief into my skin. This would be the loss that ended me.

“Please,” I whispered, bending close to his ear. “Please don’t leave us. Not you. I can’t lose you.”

His eyes found mine again, clouding with tears of his own. “You’ll be okay,” he whispered. “Both of you. You’re stronger… than you know.”

“I don’t want to be strong,” I sobbed, resting my forehead against his. “I want you to live.”

The Treeis mark on my shoulder burned cold, a terrible emptiness spreading from it as our bond began to fray. I could feel him slipping away, the connection between us weakening with each labored breath.

Quill must have felt it too. Her small body convulsed with sobs as she threw herself across his chest. “Please, Archie! Please don’t go! I need to tell you… I need to tell you how much I love you! I need you to hear it in your heart, okay? Can you hear how much I love you? Can you feel it? I’ll show you forever, okay. Everyday.”

“He knows, baby,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “He knows how much you love him.” I looked down at Archer, his face growing paler with each passing second. “And gods, he loves you back. So hard and so unwavering.”

A faint smile touched his lips. “That part… was easy,” he breathed.

He coughed, more blood staining his lips. His hand found mine, squeezing with the last of his strength.

“Listen,” he whispered, his voice fading to almost nothing. “Not your fault. Never… your fault. Tell Thorne… protect you both. Like me.”

“Tell him yourself,” I begged, clinging to his rapidly cooling fingers.

But his eyes were already losing focus, the vibrant blue dimming like stars fading at dawn. “So stubborn,” he murmured, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. “Always loved… that about you…”

His chest rose once more, then fell still. The Treeis mark flared with icy fire, then went numb, as if a piece of my soul had been carved away.

Quill’s scream shattered the night, a sound so raw and primal it smothered everything. Her power flooded around us in waves of pure anguish, withering every living thing in the garden. Roses crumbled to dust. Trees bent and twisted as if in physical pain. The air grew heavy with sorrow, pressing down like a physical weight.