Ride For Me, Die For Me.

Chapter 32: The Hunt Beneath the Skin

The morning still carried him.

Justin’s breath on my collarbone. The heat of his touch, his voice, his truth — all of it lingered in my muscles like a second heartbeat.

But love didn’t cancel out war.

And the war hadn’t forgotten us.

We were back in Granny’s yard, barefoot in the dew-damp dirt, facing each other. She stood a few paces off, arms folded, watching without saying a word. That silence spoke louder than commands. Today was different.

This wasn’t about strengthening our bodies anymore. It was about syncing our souls.

Justin’s eyes flicked to mine.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Are you?”

Our fingers brushed. Just once. Then we dropped into stance.

Granny gave no warning. The moment our breathing matched, she clapped once — and the world shifted.

Justin p.o.v

My feet weren’t on the ground anymore.

I was in her mind. She was in mine. Two rivers crashing into one current.

We landed somewhere dark. Not threatening—more like… sacred.

The spirit realm was thick with smoke, the scent of juniper and ash heavy in our lungs. This wasn’t a memory or a trick of the mind. This was present, living.

Waiya stood beside me, eyes glowing faintly. Her scar pulsed at her ribs like it had its own heartbeat, and I felt it. I felt it.

Ahead of us, the entity hovered — not running this time. It was waiting.

Still shifting, still smokey, but more solid now. And more aware.

Its form was built like a shadow cast by a body that hadn’t been born yet. It didn’t move — it just watched.

“It knows we’re here,” Waiya whispered.

“Then let’s stop watching it.”

I stepped forward, and the second I did—

It lunged.

Waiya p.o.v

The scar screamed. I dropped to one knee, gripping the dirt of the spirit-realm floor like I could anchor myself there.

Justin threw his hands up — a shield of light blasted between me and the entity, knocking it back.

But it wasn’t trying to hurt us.

Not this time.

It circled. Darted. Swirled into smoke again, brushing past me like wind at the back of the neck.

Justin reached for me, but we both froze at what we saw:

It wasn’t the entity anymore.

It had shifted.

It had taken my face.

Justin p.o.v

I couldn’t move.

The thing smiled — Waiya’s smile, twisted wrong, stitched at the corners like it didn’t belong.

It turned to me and said, “She’ll crack. They always do.”

My stomach turned, but I stepped forward anyway. “Not her.”

“You don’t even know what she’s holding,” it hissed. “She’s bleeding power. And you’re soaking in it.”

I hurled a blade of light, but it was gone before it landed. The vision ripped apart, and we were slammed back into our bodies, choking for breath.

Waiya p.o.v

I sat up, heart hammering, sweat slick on my spine.

Granny didn’t move. “What did it show you?”

Justin spoke before I could.

“It wore her face.”

Granny’s jaw tightened. “Then it’s decided. It’s chosen her as its vessel.”

My stomach dropped.

“No,” Justin said. “She’s not a vessel. She’s a weapon.”

Granny didn’t argue.

“You have until the next moon to prove it.”

Later that afternoon, we tracked the residue it left behind.

It led us past the city edge, into a half-buried rail tunnel where time had stopped moving. We stayed silent, steps careful. The air buzzed with something that didn’t belong.

Then we heard it.

Footsteps. But not the entity’s.

Donquavious stepped from the shadows like he’d been waiting hours for us to show.

“Y’all really out here playing soldier?” he said. “Cute.”

Justin was on edge before I was. “Why are you here?”

Donquavious shrugged. “Some of us don’t like seeing things evolve past us. I had to check if the rumors were true.”

“What rumors?” I asked.

He tilted his head at Justin. “That she’s cracked you wide open. That you finally found something soft enough to ruin you.”

Justin’s hands clenched at his sides.

“I’m not here for you,” Donquavious said, stepping toward me. “I came to remind her what she is.”

I lit up before I even moved. My tattoos surged — and so did the scar. It liked the confrontation. Fed off it.

Donquavious noticed.

“That scar ain’t a curse, girl. It’s your root. You keep treating it like rot, but it’s your beginning.”

I didn’t let him finish the rest.

The wind slammed him backward, dust flying.

“Then I’ll burn the root,” I snapped.

He laughed through the pain. “You won’t. You’ll let it grow.”

And just like that, he vanished into smoke.

Later that night

The night air settled in heavy and soft around them, the sounds of the city far off and muffled, like the world had the decency to give them a little silence.

They walked in no rush, side by side down a cracked sidewalk lined with weeds. Streetlights flickered above, casting golden halos that clung to their skin like breath.

Waiya’s hand brushed Justin’s. He caught her fingers, didn’t let go.

“I still feel it,” she whispered. “That thing. It’s not just watching anymore, it’s… it’s pulling. Waiting for one of us to slip.”

Justin looked down at her, the way her brow furrowed, the way her tattoos glowed faintly in the dark, tracing stories only the spirits could read. “Then we don’t slip,” he said, voice low. “We lean in. Together.”

Waiya let out a soft breath, and it ghosted in the space between them like smoke. “You always say the right thing.”

“Nah,” he said, stopping in his tracks. “I just mean it.”

He turned to face her fully, letting their hands fall between them, fingers still locked. “I saw you when I was gone, Waiya. I felt you. Even in the dark. Especially in the dark. Like you were calling me back.”

“I was.” Her voice trembled, just a little. “Every second.”

He reached up, brushed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “You brought me home.”

“You are home,” she said.

That’s when he kissed her. Not rushed, not needy—just real. The kind that didn’t ask for permission but still felt like a prayer. Their auras flared faintly where their bodies touched—soft pulsing light where skin met skin, like their magic knew each other better than they did.

When they broke, Justin rested his forehead against hers.

“Tomorrow,” he said quietly, “we go harder. We train our minds, not just our bodies. We track that thing, and we finish this.”

Waiya nodded, eyes still half-lidded. “Yeah. But tonight… we breathe.”

They stood there in the glow of a flickering streetlamp, holding onto the stillness like it might be the last peace they’d get for a while.

And for once, the world didn’t rush them.