"I meant what I said earlier. I can't lose you too." His voice drops to a whisper. "I won't survive it."

I cover his hand with mine where it rests against my cheek. "You won't have to."

"Promise me," he says, suddenly fierce. "Promise me you'll be careful in the Crucible. That you won't take unnecessary risks."

"I promise," I tell him, though we both know it's a vow that may be impossible to keep. The Crucible is designed to test us to our limits, to push us into situations where death will be around every corner.

He kisses me again, deep and thorough, as if trying to memorize the taste of me. When he pulls away, his expression is serious.

"We should go," he says reluctantly. "Your friends will be waiting."

"There's one thing," I say. "Typhon told me our tether will fade over time because I only swore myself to you. At first... I thought that was a good thing. But if you wanted⁠—"

"What do I need to do?" He asks the question seriously and so suddenly it warms my heart. The idea of losing this connection scares him as much as it scares me.

“You’d need to swear an oath to me, just like I swore one to you.”

"Tell me what to say." His voice is fierce, and I can already feel how badly he wants this. "The tether helps me keep you safe. And now that I've felt this." He frowns, shaking his head. "Losing that piece of you. It already feels like a piece of me. I don't want it to go anywhere."

I nod, understanding completely. "The oath should come from your heart. Something you mean. Just like when you swore an oath to Pyrin.”

I wait, heart pounding as I watch him think. It's only a moment before he speaks.

"I'll protect you. No matter the cost. No matter the battle. No matter fucking what. I'll be there to keep you safe. Always. Forever. That's my oath."

His words ignite a warmth in my chest that grows so hot it nearly burns. I feel something snapping into place, like the fragile thread between us is pulsing and growing thicker.

I close my eyes and smile. "Okay. Yeah. I'm pretty sure that worked."

"Good." He runs a fingertip down my cheek. "I mean it, Nessa. Before you... I was fighting for revenge. It was only anger pushing me forward. Grief. Regret. But you've given me something I didn't have. Something that matters. And I'll do anything to protect that. To protect you."

I kiss him deeply, wishing we never had to leave these waters and this moment. It feels like a perfect bubble of time, a memory I know I'll revisit as long as I live, and yet I know reality is pressing in on us. Time runs on, and our survival might depend on how we spend these next hours before the Crucible.