I closed my eyes, chasing the memory of his soft snores, the faint spasms in his muscles, the breathy whimper as he would mindlessly shift closer. He never slept so soundly as this. He was active even in dreaming: a ball of excitement and energy that never dulled. He’s too still. I sought out his hand, bringing it to the hair between my horns, mimicking the way he used to caress me. It wasn’t the same, but it offered the barest hint of comfort.

Time was irrelevant. It barely seemed to move inside our bubble, regardless, but between one inhale of his muted scent and the next, the last sliver of his life force dispersed into the air. His body no longer sang with the remnants of our connection, the vows we’d shared, the claim we had on one another. And the thread wound by fate that had tied us together… finally broke.

He’s gone.

I curled around him, the pain in my chest so debilitating I couldn’t even weep. Ripping my wings from my back would have hurt less, and there would be no deafening silence that had me shaking in fear. I lay there, fangs grinding, breath seizing in my lungs as I prayed to the Creators for the strength to survive it, for them to grant me the chance to avenge him before they took me too.

My demise was inevitable. I refused to live without my mate beside me, but I wouldn’t cross over the planes until I had what I’d promised him.

* * *

Somehow, I fell asleep—or I had collapsed unconscious—but jolted awake at the echoing thump ringing in my ear. I blinked through the lingering ache, listening for the sound to repeat itself, pleading for it, but when it didn’t, I released a dejected sigh.

I had imagined it, my dazed mind already playing cruel tricks. It may even have been my own heartbeat, the scattered pulse ricocheting off his body and back to mine with how tightly I clung to him. How desperately I wanted it to be his.

I sat up with a groan, scrubbing a hand down my face before dragging myself to my feet. It was time. I would inform Zadok of my plans for a grand memorial, a display fit for the divine. I didn’t want to let him go, but I had to.

However, just as my fingers touched the door handle, it happened again. Another thump, then another, each growing stronger than the last.

I was not asleep; I was not dreaming. I was striding back to the bed before I even realized I was moving, leaning over my mate, my heart lodged in my throat. My hand was reaching toward him, and I expected to swipe right through a mirage, for me to lurch out of a twisted nightmare. Everything around me was still and silent, except for that rhythmic thump, thump, thump.

“Luca?”