The song finally faded, but the silence that followed was different. It wasn't the dead quiet we had fought against. It was something else. Something that felt almost like peace.I lay with Wren on one side and Tessa on the other. Their bodies were still pressed against mine, still warm, still breathing. The heat inside me had begun to cool, but it hadn't disappeared entirely. It lingered like embers after a fire, waiting for the right moment to catch again."Did we survive it?" Wren asked. Her voice was hoarse from screaming."I don't know," I said. "I don't know what surviving looks like anymore."Tessa laughed weakly. "I think we did. I think we made it through. At least for now."I looked around the hall. Bodies were everywhere, tangled together in impossible configurations. Some were still moving, still touching, still holding on to each other. Others had gone completely still, their eyes closed, their breathing shallow.Silas was sitting against the wall with Vespera in his lap
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