50. The Cost of the Fight

Darkness is no longer an obstacle—it’s an ally.

Shadow and I move through deserted streets, the towering buildings around us rising like silent sentinels. Each step feels heavier than the last, as though the very air is thick with the weight of what lies ahead. The world now exists in fragments—transitions, fragments of motion, woven into a dangerous dance we never intended to join.

I close my eyes for a moment.

The city’s noise fades into the background.

My breathing is the only constant I have.

The only certainty.

Shadow walks beside me, always one step ahead—like he’s protecting me, and yet also setting the pace of our fate. Sometimes I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, watching the way he moves with such lethal confidence, it feels impossible we’re still alive after everything we’ve faced.

“Where are we going, Shadow?”

My voice slips between the echoes of our footsteps.

He doesn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he pauses, like he’s calculating something far beyond my reach.a safe place,” he says at last, not turning back.

As if safety were still a destination we could imagine.

But I’m not sure I believe in that promise anymore.

Safety has lost its meaning.

It’s not something we can hope for—not when our very existence is marked by danger.

They’re hunting us.

They want us.

All we know is this: we can’t stop.

Not even for a breath. Not for a single, unguarded moment.

The weight of it all crashes into me at once.

Desperation tangles with a fury I don’t fully understand.

“Safe?”

My voice comes out almost mocking, though I know, deep down, it’s what I need to hear.

“And what if there’s no such place left? What if, in the end, there’s nowhere we can hide?”

He turns then. His eyes, dark as ever, meet mine—but this time, there’s something else.

A flicker of something human. Something raw.

Something that shimmers like light caught inside a storm.

Something I can’t look away from.

“Then we fight,” he says.

And his voice is so sure, so unwavering, it feels like the world narrows to that single word.

Fight.

But what if fighting means losing everything?

What if we can’t outrun the ones chasing us, can’t escape the ghosts that haunt every shadow?

The question burns inside me—but I keep it there, buried.

Because now isn’t the time for doubt.

Not when I’m standing on the edge of losing him.

Shadow grips my wrist—not harshly, but firmly.

It doesn’t hurt.

It speaks only of one thing: a silent vow.

He won’t let me go.

He won’t let me face this alone.

But I know the truth.

In the end, no one can save us from what we are.

From what we’ve done.

And even though I want to believe, I can’t help but wonder:

This fight comes with a price.

A price neither of us may be willing—or able—to fully pay.

…...

When we reach the house, everything changes.

Despite the brick walls and the faint light filtering through dusty windows, I feel trapped inside a box.

The very walls meant to shield us now seem like they’re pressing in.

Claustrophobia claws at my chest.

The air is thick with tension, like something here is about to break.

“This is it,” Shadow murmurs.

His voice low. Weighted.

It makes my stomach tighten.

This is where we stay?

Is this where the world ends—where we make our stand?

The house is small. Bare. The scent of aging wood is overwhelming.

There’s nothing here that feels safe.

Shadow moves to a table where a pair of broken chairs wait, and he drops into one.

His gaze is lost in the darkness around us.

I stay by the doorway, trying to make sense of everything pressing in on me.

“Tell me this isn’t a mistake,” I blurt suddenly.

The words tumble out before I can stop them.

It’s a question I’ve been holding back, afraid of the answer.

I don’t know what I want him to say.

Only that I need something—anything—to hold onto.

Shadow lifts his head slowly.

And when his eyes meet mine, a shiver runs through me.

There’s no doubt in them.

No fear.

Only certainty.

“It’s not a mistake, Eve,” he says.

And the way he says my name—so thick with desire and darkness—makes my heart pause.

“It’s not. And if I have to burn everything to the ground to keep you safe, I will.”

His words strike like lightning.

What does that even mean?

What sacrifices is he willing to make to keep us together?

And more terrifying still—am I willing to become the woman he needs?

The woman worthy of such sacrifice?

….

Hours pass before silence is broken by a knock on the door.

My body tenses.

Sweat slicks my palms as I clutch the edge of the table.

Shadow rises slowly, more ominous than ever.

I don’t know who’s on the other side—but the tension is suffocating.

“Who is it?”

My whisper is barely audible, but he doesn’t answer.

He moves toward the door with a dangerous grace—like he’s bracing for the worst.

I watch him open it.

And the chill that runs down my spine is instant.

A stranger’s face appears in the narrow crack—but it’s not him that unsettles me.

It’s the look in Shadow’s eyes.

Something’s off.

Something I can’t name.

And the fear returns like a tide crashing into my chest.

“Who are you?”

My voice wavers, betraying the calm I’m trying to fake.

The stranger smiles.

And his gaze drifts toward me, a threat dressed in politeness.

“I come on behalf of those who are hunting you,” he says.

His voice is cold. Calculated.

“And I’ve come to tell you… your time is running out.”

My whole body freezes.

And in that instant, I know— The war has begun.