Luna Everleigh's POV
***
The battle raged around us. Kael, Nalia, and the others threw everything they had at Morganna, but it was futile. The Devourer was beyond them now, an abyss that would consume everything.
Rhydian knew it. I knew it.
And yet, he still wouldn't let go.
"Luna, please." His voice was nothing but raw emotion now, his forehead resting against mine. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't," I whispered.
He exhaled shakily, his grip tightening, as if he could anchor me here, keep me from slipping away. "Then I'll go with you."
"No." I cupped his face, memorizing every inch of him, every scar, every golden flicker in his eyes. "You have to live, Rhydian."
A harsh laugh escaped him, but there was no humor in it. "What kind of life would it be without you?"
I smiled through my tears. "One worth fighting for."
Then, before he could stop me, before I lost my nerve—
I kissed him.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't soft. It was desperation and heartbreak, a collision of love and sorrow, a promise and a goodbye all at once.
He tasted like the night, like the storms that had always drawn me to him, like the home I had never thought I'd find.
And then—I pulled away.
"Luna—"
But I was already moving.
With one final look, one last breath, I turned and ran straight into the pulsing heart of the abyss.
Into the darkness.
Into the unknown.
***
To be continued...