Page 89 of Third

Becoming.

Identical.

The bracelets pulsed, marching in synch.

One point zero. Then point eight. Then pointfive.

He wrapped her in his arms as though he could protect her from the inevitability of itall.

Their bond shattered.

Or maybe it unlocked.

Their bracelets flared. Ahigh-pitched tone rang through the chamber. Then—aclick.

The metalfell.

He caught both before they hit the sheets.Pointtwo.

“Stay,” he told her. His voice was raw. “Stay here.”

He raced across the room naked, fierce and determined, and shoved the bracelets into the ship’s ejection chute.

Launch.

The chamber sealed. The bracelets ejected and almost immediately exploded in space.

The ship rocked, shields flaring—but holding.

He turnedback.

Anya lay there—spent, radiant,alive.

She blinked up at him, wide-eyed, disbelieving. Her chest rose with uneven breaths, and tears spilled sideways into her hair. “We lived,” she choked out, voice breaking. “We were supposed to die. Tor’Vek, we chose it. We said goodbye.”

Her hands reached for him like she needed proof he was still real. He grabbed them, kissed them, pressed them to his chest.

“Iknow,” he said roughly. “Ifelt it. Every second. And then the bracelets fell off—like shackles breaking, like time itself surrendering tohope.”

Anya let out a sob that turned into a laugh, wild and broken and giddy. “Idon’t understand. Idon’t care. Ijust—how is thisreal?”

He leaned in, his forehead resting against hers. “Ido not know. But we are alive and I suspect it is because we fully joined, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our souls aligned and that alignment meant we no longer needed the bracelets.” He gazed at her with glowing amethyst eyes. “I swear this to you… I will spend every breath proving it toyou.”

She pulled him down into the bed with trembling hands. “Then start now becauseI thought it was over,” she whispered. “Ithought that was how we would die—together, but still dying.”

He swept her into his arms, sweeping her hair from her cheek. “So did I. Right until our last few heartbeats.”

She gave a shaky laugh, one hand rising to touch his face. “Ido not understand how we’re still here. Ishould feel terrified. Or disoriented. But I don’t. Ijust feel... like everything we endured finally brought us to this moment.”

“Then let us make it ours,” he murmured, voice low. “Not a miracle. Abeginning.”

For the first time since the bond began, there was no timer. No pulse of pain. No threat of madness.

Justher.

And peace.

Andlove.

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