Page 68 of A Touch of Madness

“Lara,” I whisper again, my throat tight, my voice trembling. “Do you… do you know me?”

She lifts her head fully, eyes glassy and unfocused, and for a single, terrible moment, I think she doesn’t. I think this was all for nothing, that I was too late, that?—

Her lips tremble. Her brow creases. And then?—

A whisper, soft and fragile, barely more than a breath:

“Sylvie.”

I choke on my own sob as tears stream down my cheeks and I continue to search her face. I’m wailing now, the sound echoing throughout the chamber, the tears creating an ocean beneath me.

I reach for her before I can stop myself, my hands gripping her shoulders, her skin fever-warm beneath my touch. She flinches, but only slightly, only for a second, and then, despite the restraints, she latches her fingers around my arms, the bindings tugging and biting into her, but it’s as if she doesn’t notice. She grips me just as desperately as I’m holding onto her, her fingers digging into my arms—holding on, holding on, holding on.

I can feel her shaking. The way her body trembles against mine, the way her breath comes in ragged, uneven gasps, like she is learning how to exist again.

“I’m here,” I whisper into her hair, my arms tightening around her. “I’m here, I’ve got you. I’ve got you, Lara.” My entire body shudders as she grips me, and my chest heaves, the pain and pressure eradicating itself from my core.

She lets out a broken, gasping sound that matches my own as she buries her face in my shoulder, fingers clutching my shirt like if she lets go, she’ll be lost again. Like if we separate, one of us will vanish into the air and we won’t get a do-over.

Despite everything, despite the weight of it all, for the first time in what feels like eternity…I breathe.

I don’t know how long we stay like that, clinging to each other, my tears soaking into her hair, her breath hot against my neck. I don’t care.

I would stay here forever if she needed me to.

But then?—

She pulls back. Just enough to look at me, to truly see me, and there is something broken in her gaze, something lost and uncertain.

“I—” Her voice is hoarse, raw, like she hasn’t used it in months. She swallows hard, shaking her head. “I don’t… I don’t remember all of it. I don’t…” She exhales shakily, her expression crumpling. “Sylvie, I don’t know who I am anymore.” She catches herself and thinks better of it, adding, “I mean, I know who I am. I know. I just…”

I press my forehead to hers, my own breath unsteady.

“You’re my sister,” I murmur. “You are my sister and you’re here and for right now, that’s enough.”

She exhales, long and slow, and I feel it when her body finally sags against me, when the fight in her melts away into exhaustion.

Lucian’s presence is there before I even lift my head.

He kneels beside me, his palm pressing gently against my back, grounding me, solid and there. His voice is soft when he speaks.

“I don’t want to pull you away from her, love. But soon, she needs to rest.”

I nod, my hands still gripping Lara’s. “I know.”

Nicole and Rebecca are already moving, removing the bindings and easing Lara from the chair, their hands careful, their magic pressing gently against her skin to steady her, to support her.

Lara doesn’t resist.

She just leans into them, her strength gone, her limbs heavy with exhaustion.

I rise unsteadily, my body screaming at me to stop, but Lucian is there, always there, his arm slipping around my waist before I can stumble, steadying me. I lean into him, pressing my face into his shoulder for half a second, just breathing him in.

It’s over. We saved her.

And maybe, just maybe, we will be okay.

Time does not stop for grief.

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