Chapter Forty-Four
Asha’s POV
A blinding light ripples over us—so bright it sears through my eyelids—and my lungs seize as though something catastrophic is about to happen… something I can’t see, can’t name, can’t stop.
My lips part, ready to speak, but my mind is suddenly, terrifyingly blank.
The world comes back in fragments.
A figure stands beside me, the veins in his arm black as ink, his expression twisted in confusion. I blink at him, trying to place him—he feels familiar in the way a fading dream does, just out of reach.
Then my eyes drift past him and land on—
River.
And it’s like I’m seeing him for the very first time.
A fierce, inexplicable pull yanks at my chest. Before I can think, before I can question the sudden rush in my veins, I’m running—throwing myself into his arms. The moment his hands close around me, something inside me sings, warm and bright, like a long-missing puzzle piece snapping into place.
“I think I… love you,” I breathe, the words tumbling out without hesitation, without fear. I cling to him, arms tight around his torso, desperate and certain all at once.
He stiffens, then holds me tighter—so tight it almost hurts.
Shock flickers across his face, followed by something softer… something devastating.
“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”