Chapter 29
Her body collapsed forward, limp against Xander, drained of strength, of fire, of everything.
He caught her, holding her close as she trembled, exhausted, smoke and ash seeming to linger in the air around her like the echo of the King’s cruelty.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly, every breath a reminder of what she had survived, and what she had carried alone for far too long.
“Ellaryn.” Xander shook her gently, but she remained unresponsive, her body trembling with only the faintest shudder.
Panic pricked at his chest as he gripped her shoulders and shook her more insistently.
Slowly, almost painfully, her eyelids fluttered open, and a shaky exhale of relief escaped him.
She blinked, disoriented, the ache in her chest making each inhale a struggle. “You’re supposed to tap me,” Xander said, his brow glistening with sweat, voice sharp but controlled. “When the pain is too much, you’re supposed to tap me.” He repeated it again, his words trembling at the edges.
“I wanted… to find… something… anything,” she muttered, catching her breath and taking the glass of water he handed her with shaking fingers.
“I told you,” he said, exhaling slowly, “this isn’t a sprint. We have to go slow. Little by little. Step by step.”
“I know, I just—”
“Never do that again,” he snapped, eyes locking onto hers.
“I’m immortal, you know,” she blinked, confused at his concern.
“I don’t care! It’s bad enough I have to hurt you, and now you’re blacking out.”
Ellaryn’s eyebrows furrowed as she took him in—cheeks flushed, eyes wide with panic, jaw tight with anger.
He was cross, and she could feel it like a weight pressing against her chest. For a moment, she hesitated, caught between defiance and the instinct to reach for him.
His anger wasn’t directed at her—not exactly—but it made her pulse quicken all the same.
“Promise me. If you feel yourself blacking out, you tap me. Understand?”
Ellaryn hesitated, the heaviness of his words sinking deep.
Her hands itched to push him away—but instead, they hovered near his arms, unsure whether to brace or reach. Her pulse thundered in her ears, and for a heartbeat, the world narrowed to his gaze, sharp and unyielding.
Finally, she exhaled, slow and deliberate. “I… understand,” she whispered, voice barely audible, but the defiance in her eyes didn’t waver.
“Please,” she said again, quieter now, stripped bare. “Tell me you found something.”
Xander didn’t answer right away.
He just looked away, jaw tightening as though the truth soured on his tongue.
“Nothing that explains where his power comes from,” he said at last. “Not the source. Not the beginning.” He dragged a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding through the calm he tried—and failed—to maintain.
“But there’s something there. I can feel it.
Like we’re circling the same wound over and over, never quite reaching the centre. ”
Ellaryn’s fingers curled into the sheets, knuckles whitening. Doubts gnawed at her. Doubts that they wouldn’t find what was needed, that the King was invincible.
Xander had told her no one could be—but it sure felt like he was.
Her eyes pricked, and she looked away.
“Hey.” He noticed immediately and sat down next to her, his hand resting lightly on her back.
She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t meet his gaze either. Her mind swirled with ache, memories she had tried to lock away resurfacing, sharp and insistent.
“Look at me, Ellaryn.” He instructed, and when she didn’t respond, he gently cupped her face, tilting it toward him. His eyes searched hers—a swirl of emerald and turquoise that made her chest tighten.
“It’s going to work,” he said softly. The words hung between them, fragile and hopeful. “It’s going to work.” He repeated, firmer this time.
Ellaryn let herself believe it.
She nodded faintly, and the tears she had been holding back fell freely.
He pulled her into a warm embrace.
Her tears dampened his shirt as she nuzzled herself further into his hold.
She had never let herself be so immersed in warmth—not that she got many opportunities to. Even after all she had done, he had wanted to comfort her. She knew she didn’t deserve it. But she also knew that soon enough, Xander would see her for what she truly was.
A monster.
So she took it while she could. Maybe that made her selfish—but she clung to every second of it before stepping back into a world so cold it could chill the sun.