Page 139 of Emylia

“This isn’t just any arrowhead.” Sebastian stepped closer, voice softer. “This is the one you used to save my life.”

My breath caught. My eyes snapped to his, throat dry. “This is the arrow I used to kill someone.”

He took my hands in his. “No. This is the arrow you used to save me. If you hadn’t acted, I’d be dead.”

A weight slammed into my chest. I knew what he was trying to say. And given the chance, I’d do it all over again to protect him. But what kind of person did that make me?

“I have blood on my hands,” I whispered.

Sebastian stepped forward, his grip firm, gaze unwavering. “You’re a hero.Myhero. I don’t ever want you to forget that. I owe you my life.”

“Bastian—”

“It’s true. Without you, I’d be gone. Probably drinking frozen agave cocktails with Ezekiel.” A short laugh escaped him, but it was cracked, raw. “And not just from yesterday. You’ve always been the one who holds me together. Without you… I’d be a wreck. A complete, hopeless mess. The truth is, I don’t even know who I am without you.” My lungs stuttered. His eyes burned into me like I was his tether to this world. “Look, I engraved it.”

My breath hitched.

He held the arrowhead between us like it was fragile.

Sacred.

My fingers turned the arrowhead over in my palm, slower this time, studying every surface, as if I might miss something if I blinked.

On one side, etched in sharp, beautiful lettering—Warrioress.

Of course.

That was the Sebastian I loved.

Bold.

Honest.

A little cocky.

But entirely him.

I flipped it over, expecting something ridiculous, something to make me roll my eyes.

Instead, I froze.

My chest squeezed when I saw the two words carved into the metal—impossibly neat, slanted, unmistakably Sebastian’s scrawl. The words were smaller, more precise. Like he’d taken his time. Like it had mattered.

My everything.

Etched beneath it was the most breathtaking engraving—a Cindralyx, wings outstretched in eternal flight.

The creature that symbolized our bond.

Not some polished emblem.

Not some delicate crest.

It looked like it had clawed its way into the metal—wings outstretched, mid-howl, ascending into the constellations.

Fiery.

Unyielding.

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