Misha.
I turned my head just in time to see Misha’s men burst through the trees, guns raised, cutting through Chernov’s men with brutal efficiency. My breath caught, a lump forming in my throat. Misha had come for me.
The battle was wild. Men fell with screams, gunshots filling the air. The sound of chaos was deafening. But through it all, Misha’s eyes never left me. I could see the fury in his gaze, the raw need to get to me.
I barely had time to process it before Chernov yanked me forward, his grip like iron on my arm, dragging me toward the cliff’s edge.
“Come with me, Luna,” he begged, his voice too soft, too desperate. “You’ll be free.”
“Let her go,” Misha’s voice thundered across the battlefield.
It wasn’t just anger. It was pure, undiluted rage.
I turned toward him, my heart pounding in my chest. Misha was here. He’d come for me. He’d saved me.
But even as his presence anchored me, something pulled at me, dragging me deeper into the fog. I wanted to hold on, to fight, but I could feel the fight slipping away from me, like sand through my fingers. The weight of it pressed down, suffocating.
The world around me darkened, edges blurring into shadows I couldn’t grasp. The noise faded, the sounds of Misha’s voice distant, like they were coming from underwater.
The fight wasn’t over. But I couldn’t witness it. Not now.
The world is so dark. I can’t seem to find the light, no matter how hard I search for it. It’s cold, and I feel like I’m sinking deeper and deeper into a place I don’t recognize. My body is so heavy and every part of me aches, like I’ve been torn apart and put back together wrong.
I want to move. I try. But nothing happens. My arms, my legs, they just... won’t respond. It’s like I’m trapped in this place, unable to reach the surface, to break free from the suffocating silence and the shadows.
And then, a voice.
“Luna.”
Misha. It’s Misha. The sound of his voice cuts through the fog in my mind, a distant echo of something I know I should recognize, something that should bring me comfort. But I don’tknow what’s happening. I don’t understand why it sounds so... desperate.
“Please, just wake up.”
His voice breaks, and something sharp jabs at my chest. It’s so raw. So full of fear. I want to tell him I’m here, that I’m not gone, but my mouth is dry, my body too weak.
I can feel his presence, though. It’s like a warmth, a pull, so close to me. But I can’t move. I can’t even open my eyes. Why can’t I move?
“Luna...” His voice cracks again, almost pleading, and it breaks something inside me. The weight of his fear presses down on me like a boulder, crushing me under the pressure of it.
I feel him. He’s right there. Close enough that I can almost touch him. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t reach him. I can’t reassure him.
My mind starts to drift again, the darkness calling to me, inviting me to just let go. It would be so easy to sink back into it, to let everything fade away. But I can’t. Not like this. Not with him sounding like that.
“Don’t leave me. You can’t. I... I can’t lose you.”
His words are like a knife, twisting inside me. I don’t know why they hurt so much, but they do. They’re not supposed to hurt. Not when it’s Misha.
His pain... it feels like it’s mine, too.
I want to reach for him, to tell him I’m here. But I can’t. It’s like my body’s betraying me. I hate it. I hate how weak I feel, how helpless. I want to fight. I want to get up and show him I’m still here. That I’m not slipping away.
And then, just as quickly, I feel myself slipping again. The darkness is so much easier. So much quieter.
But his voice, so soft, so raw, drags me back. I can’t leave him. Not like this. Not when he’s like this.
“Please,” he whispers. “Please, just wake up.”
I feel a faint flutter of something inside me, something stirring, something pulling me back toward him. And for the first time in what feels like forever, I try again. My fingers twitch, just the slightest movement. It’s not much, but it’s enough.