Page 58 of Darkness and Deceit

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She felt it.

Whatever just happened here… shefeltit.

And that’s what shatters me.

Not the fire still crawling beneath my ribs.

Not the blood drying on my skin.

Not even the body cooling beneath my hands.

It’s her.

It’s the thought of her face, contorted in fear.

Of her calling my name and hearing nothing.

Of her waiting for someone who might never come back.

Vaughn’s voice tears through the haze, ragged and desperate. “Shit. Shit. Shit. We need to get him back—he’s not gonna last!”

He’s right.

I can feel it too.

The unraveling. The slipping. The end.

I close my eyes for a second.

Not to give up.

Not yet.

But… to remember.

The way her laughter pierces through the darkness.

The comforting touch of her hand on my cheek.

The gentle way she utters my name, as if it's something precious.

The way her lips meet mine, brimming with hope and desire simultaneously.

If this is the end, letthatbe what stays.

Not the monster.

Not the pit.

Not the pain.

Her.

Let her be the last thing I feel.

Let her be the last thing Iam.

Nineteen

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