Page 142 of Shadow Waltz

“Ash,” I said, voice breaking, “stay with me. Stay, please.”

His fingers twitched, searching for mine. I caught them, squeezing so tight my knuckles turned white. “You came,” he breathed, lips stained crimson.

“Always.” My heart hammered out of control. I tried to smile for him, but my face felt broken. “I’m here. I’m not leaving.”

Troy’s hands were steady, his voice cold with urgency. “We need to move. He’s losing too much blood. Luka, we have to get him out of here, now.”

Ash squeezed my hand, a flash of his old stubbornness in his eyes. “Don’t—don’t let me go under, okay?” His voice was thin as a whisper, cracking around the edges.

I leaned close, pressing my forehead to his. “You’re not going anywhere, Ash. Not without me.”

He let out a pained laugh, more air than sound. “Guess I finally get to be rescued.”

“Shut up,” I choked, tears blurring my vision as I pressed down on the wound. “Don’t you dare make this a punchline.”

He coughed, more blood bubbling on his lips. “Couldn’t help it.” His eyelids fluttered, fighting to stay open. “Luka… if this is it, you need to know?—”

I shook my head, desperate. “No last words. You’re going to make it, Ash. I swear it.”

He shook his head, weak. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Just—don’t let them take you down for me. I’d rather die free than live as someone else’s ghost.”

The sirens above ground wailed, a distant song of city chaos, but here in the dark it was just us, the scrape of boot soles, the ragged breaths, the unending, impossible ache.

Troy and Dmitri maneuvered Ash onto a makeshift stretcher, Dmitri’s own wound leaking through his pants. “He needsa hospital,” Dmitri said, voice flat, hiding the terror behind practicality.

“We can’t risk it,” Troy snapped. “They’ll be looking for us everywhere.”

Ash shivered, skin going cold. I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over him, brushing hair back from his face. He caught my hand again, holding tight as if he could anchor us both.

“Did I mess everything up?” he whispered, voice slurring.

My chest twisted. “No. No, you saved us. You always do.”

He blinked, trying to smile, pain etched deep into every line of his face. “Guess I’m good for something, then.”

“You’re everything,” I said, voice hoarse. “You’re the only thing that ever made any of this matter.”

A single tear slipped down his cheek. “If I don’t make it?—”

“Don’t,” I warned, the word sharp as broken glass. “You don’t get to leave me, Ash. Not now.”

He nodded, weak but still defiant. “I’ll try. For you.”

We moved through the tunnels, every step a battle, every corner a risk. Blood dripped from Ash’s wound, splattering the filthy floor. Dmitri led, limping, face grim, while Troy shouldered most of Ash’s weight. I hovered at Ash’s side, unable to let go, whispering his name over and over, as if I could keep him anchored just by refusing to be silent.

Somewhere behind us, Reddick’s body cooled, another ghost added to the city’s haunted ledger.

When we finally surfaced, the sky was just starting to blush pink, city streets empty and strange in the dawn light. Ash’s breath rattled, his grip on my hand gone slack and cold. My heart felt like it might explode from my chest, the terror worse than any bullet wound.

Troy flagged down a stolen car. We bundled Ash inside, Dmitri barking directions to the safe house. I knelt on the floorbeside him, hand never leaving his, eyes fixed on the blood that wouldn’t stop blooming across his shirt.

“I’m scared,” Ash whispered, and the words shattered me.

I bent low, pressing my forehead to his temple. “Me too. But I’m here. You’re not alone.”

His breath stuttered. “Luka—if I don’t make it, promise me you won’t—won’t go back to being alone. Promise me you’ll keep fighting. Even if it hurts.”

Tears slipped down my face. I kissed his temple, desperate. “Don’t you dare say goodbye. I’m not letting you go. Not now. Not ever.”