The wind howled around us as the last of the torches were lit. Smoke clung to the trees like ghosts of the past. I stood near the edge of the battlefield, my fingers curling tightly around the hilt of the blade Elias had placed in my hand earlier. It wasn’t just a weapon. It was a promise. A vow that I wouldn’t let everything we built fall apart.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” Elias asked, his voice low and close to my ear.
I didn’t look at him. My eyes were fixed on the distant shadows shifting at the tree line. “Ready? No. But I’m done running.”
He stepped in front of me, tipping my chin up so our eyes locked. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Whatever happens, we have each other.”
“I won’t let him take you from me,” I said, and meant it with every aching piece of me.
His lips pre
