MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
She leaned in and kissed me, a seal of the binary soul that tasted of iron and eternity.
As the sun began to rise over Moscow, casting long, golden shadows across the stone, I realized that the war wasn't over. It had just changed. We weren't the ones being hunted anymore. We were the ones who decided who got to stay in the light.
The Shield had returned. The Architect had claimed her throne. And the Heir was waiting for the world to be reborn.
"To the end, Nevan?" Ruby asked, her thumb tracing the scar on my cheek.