Chapter 49
Thorne
She was crumpled over Finn’s body—her shadows flickering wild and broken around her, clinging like they could hold him together.
But he was already gone.
Vasquez was closing in.
I didn’t hesitate.
I stepped between them, blades drawn, rage simmering like a blade held too long in flame. I’d spent years being the weapon they used—but this was mine to choose.
Behind me, I felt the others—Leo, Slade, Jasper—rushing toward us. I heard Elira sobbing, felt her shadows snap with grief.
They’d all die if they stayed.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I reached out with my magic—deep, cold, and precise. It slipped silently into their minds, not like a blade this time, but like a whisper in the blood.
Go.
I pushed the compulsion gently into each of them—Elira. Leo. Slade. Jasper. Maddie.
Take her. Protect her. Leave me.
The spell rippled outward, anchoring not in thought, but in instinct—buried deep, where even grief couldn’t shake it loose.
I felt their resistance like muscles straining under the weight. But the magic held.
They would run.
They had to.
And I would buy them time.
“So, you and me now,” Vasquez said, his blade glinting like a promise. “This has been a long time coming.”
“I suppose it has,” I replied, twirling my sword into position. My stance was steady. Unshakable.
I stood at the mouth of the dock—the only thing between that monster and the people I swore to protect.
Me. Just me. Holding back the tide.
Behind me, I heard the thud of paws becoming boots—Leo shifting back to grab Elira. She screamed my name, clawed at the deck—but he pulled her inside the boat, like I told him to.
“‘Thorne! No! NO!’ Her voice cracked the ice around my heart.
I felt Leo’s instinct—his need—to fight beside me.
I shook my head, just once.
Leave me behind. That’s an order.
Ropes creaked, shouts echoed as the last anchor was pulled free. The boat was moving. I felt it—her grief, stretching like a tether, trying to hold me.
I wished I could turn.
Just once.
I wished I could see her face one last time. Say goodbye.
I’d memorised her once. But it didn’t feel like enough.
But I couldn’t afford to move.
The only thing holding back the storm was me.
And I would not let it pass.