"Get away from her!"
Thane’s voice cut through the air like a blade, raw with fury.
Before I could react, he moved—shoving the Lycan King back with every ounce of strength he had. The force barely made the Lycan King stumble, but Thane still planted himself between us, arms spread like a shield.
I gasped. No. No, no, no.
"Thane, don’t!" My voice cracked.
He didn’t understand.
He didn’t know.
It was pointless.
The Lycan King wouldn’t hurt .
But him?
Him, he would kill without hesitation.
I sucked in a breath, reaching for Thane, ready to drag him away, to tell him to run—
But then—
Stab.
The sound was sickening, quiet, like a knife slicing through ripe fruit.
Thane stiffened.
A sharp, strangled gasp left his lips as his body jerked slightly, then froze.
For a mont, everything went silent.
Then he coughed.
Wet. Gurgling.
A thick trickle of blood slipped past his lips.
His wide, disbelieving eyes turned toward , searching for sothing—help, understanding, anything.
But all I could do was stare.
No.
The Lycan King stepped back, the blade he had used vanishing into the folds of his cloak as if it had never been there. The blood—Thane’s blood—stained the ground, a dark, ugly bloom spreading beneath him.
Thane’s lips trembled.
Then he smiled.
It was small, weak, and so very wrong.
And then—
He fell.
I choked on a scream.
My feet moved before my mind could catch up, my body lunging toward him, toward Thane, hands reaching—
But I never made it.
Because the mont I moved, the Lycan King was behind .
His arms wrapped around again—gentle, almost comforting if not for the way they trapped , holding firmly against his chest.
I thrashed. "No—NO! Let go!"
Tears burned down my cheeks as I struggled, trying to twist out of his hold, trying to reach Thane—trying to fix this.
But the King’s grip only tightened.
"Go back to your chamber, dear."
His voice was low, quiet—so casual, so effortless, as if he hadn’t just killed soone in front of .
As if none of this mattered.
Before I could scream at him, before I could fight harder—
The world around shifted.
Darkness swallowed whole.
And I was back.
Back in my bedchamber.
The familiar walls lood around , suffocating, unchanging. The fire still flickered in the hearth, the night air still seeped through the slightly open window as if nothing had happened.
But it had.
My breath ca in short, frantic gasps as I stumbled toward the door. My hands fumbled at the handle, twisting, yanking, pulling.
It wouldn’t budge.
I tried again.
Nothing.
"Open!" My voice cracked as I slamd my fists against the wood. "OPEN!"
"Soone open this damn door!" I scread, my voice raw, cracking under the weight of my fury.
I slamd my fists against the wood, again and again, my palms stinging from the impact. Tears blurred my vision, hot and unrelenting as they streaked down my cheeks. My breath ca in sharp gasps, my chest rising and falling too fast, too shallow.
I yanked at the handle, twisting, pulling, shoving my entire weight against the door. But it wouldn’t move.
Nothing.
Not even a creak.
The tower had swallowed whole again, its walls pressing in, suffocating.
"LET OUT!" I banged on the door harder, my knuckles aching, but I didn’t care. "You can’t just keep here! Open this damn door!"
Silence.
I swallowed the sob rising in my throat and stepped back, my body trembling. My hands curled into fists, nails digging into my palms.
A chorus of soft ows broke through my ragged breaths.
I felt them before I saw them—warm bodies brushing against my legs, tails flicking, their presence grounding even as my world collapsed.
Thalion rubbed against my calf, his deep purr vibrating through my skin. Namarie pressed her tiny paws against my ankle, her bright eyes blinking up at . And Xylara, my feisty orange tabby, let out an impatient mrrp before weaving between my feet.
They knew.
They felt my distress, and it was like they were trying to pull back, to stop from spiraling.
But I couldn’t stop.
I let out another scream, a broken, guttural sound as I slamd my fist against the door one last ti. My voice cracked, my throat raw from the strain. My entire body shook, barely able to hold itself up.
The door didn’t move.
Nothing changed.
And then—another soft ow.
I sucked in a breath and looked down, my vision still blurred with unshed tears. My three little shadows circled , their tails flicking, their soft fur brushing against my legs in a silent plea.
I let out a shaky breath. Then another.
What was I supposed to do now?
I collapsed onto the cold floor, wrapping my arms tightly around my cats as the weight of everything crashed down on .
Thalion nuzzled against my neck, his deep purr vibrating through my chest, while Namarie curled up in my lap, her tiny paws pressing gently against . Xylara let out another distressed ow, her tail flicking as if scolding for breaking down like this.
"It’s my fault!" I choked out, my voice hoarse. My fingers dug into Thalion’s fur as if holding onto him would sohow ground , sohow make this all feel less real. "It’s my fault! And I—I didn’t even tell him—I didn’t even get to tell him I forgave him."
My breath ca out in short, gasping bursts, my chest tightening so much it hurt.
Thane was gone.
Because I had hesitated.
Because I had wasted so much ti being angry, being stubborn, refusing to trust him—and now he was gone.
And the worst part?
He had smiled at before he fell.
That damn smile—blood dripping from his lips, eyes filled with sothing I couldn’t understand. Was it regret? Peace? Relief? I didn’t know. I would never know.
A fresh wave of pain surged through , and I clutched my cats even tighter, my body shaking with grief. My vision blurred, the dim candlelight of my chamber turning into a hazy glow as tears kept spilling down my cheeks.
I was trapped.
Trapped in this godforsaken tower.
Trapped in his grip.
Trapped with the knowledge that the one person who had tried to help —who had given a sliver of hope—was gone.
And I hadn’t even told him I forgave him.
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