TWENTY-THREE: WHAT HE CANNOT LOSE
207 Words
Bright caught her instantly.
Of course he did.
He always did.
Her body was too warm.
Still burning faintly beneath his hands.
But alive.
Still alive.
Relief hit harder than any fight.
It twisted into something darker.
Something sharper.
Something he didn’t want to name.
He carried her away from the wreckage.
Farther.
Safer.
Only when the mountain was quiet again did he stop.
She stirred in his arms.
Weak—but conscious.
“You ran into fire,” she murmured.
“You were in it.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is to me.”
The words came out rougher than intended.
Ember’s eyes lifted to his.
Searching.
“Why?” she asked again.
That question.
Always that question.
But this time—
He didn’t dodge it.
Didn’t deflect.
Didn’t lie.
His jaw tightened.
“Because losing you—”
He stopped.
The words caught.
Dangerous.
Too real.
Too close to something he didn’t understand.
Didn’t want to understand.
Ember’s breath slowed.
“Say it.”
A demand.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
His gaze darkened.
“Because I won’t let it happen.”
Not the same answer.
But close enough.
Closer than he had ever allowed.
And it was enough.
For now.
- Writer
