LOGINWhat I Won’t Let Them TakeMark’s POVThe moment she turns and runs toward them, something in me snaps.Not control.Not instinct.Something deeper.Because I know that look.I have seen it before.Not in her.In people who have already decided what they are willing to lose.And I am not letting her become one of them.“Rissa!” I shout, already moving.Too late.She is gone.Not gone gone.But far enough that the Hunters close in around her, their formation swallowing her path, their focus locking onto her like she is the only thing that exists.Which, to them, she is.Josh moves.Not toward her.Toward me.And that is my first warning.My second is the way the Hunters shift.Not all of them follow her.A handful break off.Circle back.Cutting me off.
Rissa’s POVThe moment I turn the corner, I disappear.Not completely.Not in the way they want me to.But enough.I pull the power inward, tightening it close to my skin, dulling the ripple it sends through the air. The street ahead is narrow, broken, lined with empty buildings that lean like they are tired of standing.Perfect.I slow my pace.Not because I want to.Because I need to think.Boots thunder past the intersection behind me.“They went this way!”Wrong.I press my back against the wall, holding still as three Hunters rush by without looking. Their focus is forward. Their mistake.I exhale slowly.That was too close.The silence that follows is worse.Because I know they will realize it.And when they do, they will come back harder.Smarter.I push off the wall and move deeper into the alley,
What I Choose to Fight ForRissa’s POVThe moment I turn and run toward them, everything sharpens.Not fear.Not doubt.Clarity.The Hunters surge forward, weapons raised, their formation tightening as they lock onto me. They think I’m breaking. They think I’m desperate.Good.Let them.Power hums beneath my skin, steady and alive, no longer chaotic. It listens now. It responds.To me.“Target acquired!” one of them shouts.I don’t slow.I push faster.The ground cracks under my steps, energy bleeding into every movement. The air bends slightly around me, distorting just enough to throw off their aim.A shot rings out.I twist.The bullet misses by inches.Another comes.Then another.Too many.I stop running.That’s what throws them.Confusion ripples through their line as I turn to face them fully.“Take her!” the leader barks.They close in.Fast.Disciplined.Deadly.I inhale slowly.Then I release.The power hits the ground like a pulse.A controlled wave.It doesn’t explode.It
What I Will ProtectRissa’s POVThe silence after the fracture closes should feel like victory.It doesn’t.It feels like the moment before something worse begins.I am still on my knees when it hits me again.Not the pull.Not the connection.Something deeper.Quieter.Alive.My hand moves to my stomach before I can stop it.Instinct.Fear.No.Not fear.Knowing.“Rissa.”Mark’s voice is closer now, rough with something he is trying not to show.His hands steady me, pulling me upright.“Stay with me,” he says.“I am,” I answer, but my voice sounds far away to my own ears.Because I am not fully here.Part of me is… listening.Not to the sky.To myself.To the steady, fragile presence tucked beneath everything else.My breath catches.Not now.Not here.I force the thought down before it can fully form.Not because it is wrong.Because it is too right.Josh exhales sharply beside us. “We need to move.”I look up.The street is still broken.The Hunters that survived are pulling back,
What I Hold On ToRissa’s POVThe word becoming does not leave when the noise settles.It stays.It sits in my chest like something alive, something waiting to see what I will do next.The fracture trembles above us, thinner than before but still there. Still listening. Still pulling.I can feel it watching me.Not the way a person watches.The way something vast notices a shift in balance.Mark is still holding me. His grip is tight, grounding, real in a way nothing else is right now.“Rissa,” he says, lower this time. Careful. “Talk to me.”“I am thinking,” I whisper.“That’s what I’m afraid of.”Despite everything, I almost laugh.Josh exhales sharply somewhere to my right. “We don’t have time for a breakthrough moment. That thing is still open.”“I know,” I say.But I do not look at it.Not yet.Because every time I do, it pulls harder.Instead, I look at my hand.It is still shaking.Not from fear.From strain.From holding something too large inside a space that was never meant
Mark’s POVThe word becoming sits wrong with me.It lingers in the air, heavy and unfinished, like a threat that hasn’t chosen its final shape.I don’t care what it means.I care about her.“Rissa,” I say, tightening my grip on her. “Stay with me.”Her body trembles under my hands.Not weak. Not breaking.Changing.I can feel it, and something in my chest twists hard.Not fear.Something worse.Recognition.“I’m here,” she says, but her voice sounds far away, like she’s speaking through a wall I can’t see.“No,” I mutter. “Not like that. Stay here.”Above us, the fracture flickers again. It looks unstable now, like it can’t decide whether to collapse or rip wider.I’m not waiting for it to decide.“Josh,” I snap. “We end this. Now.”“I’m working on it,” he says.But he doesn’t move.That alone is wrong.Josh doesn’t hesitate. Not ever.I glance at him, just for a second.He’s watching Ri
Ashes Between UsRissa’s POVThe forest split open in chaos. Shadows surged like a tide, arrows slicing through the night. The metallic tang of blood filled the air before the first body hit the ground.And then I saw him.Josh.For a heartbeat, I thought my smoke-choked lungs had conjured him. The
What Remains After FireRissa’s POVThe fire burned low, its glow stretching across the walls in restless amber. Smoke curled lazily toward the rafters, and for the first time since the chaos in the clearing, there was quiet.Not peace. Just quiet.My hands wouldn’t stop trembling. I tucked them be
The Ravine of BloodRissa’s POVThe ground shook beneath my feet. Wolves poured from the trees, their claws ripping soil, their eyes glowing like lanterns in the fog. My pulse matched the rhythm of the chaos, but what gripped my chest wasn’t fear. It was fire.“Stay with me,” Mark growled, his back
The Pain of Seeing You with AnotherJosh’s POVThe forest pressed close as we moved, shadows swallowing what little light the moon offered. Every step felt like dragging myself through the ruins of more than just a battle. The clearing was behind us, but its weight clung to me—the blood, the smoke,







