Chapter 129: New Hope
Lily POV
The moment Caleb’s hand touched mine, I felt alive again.
For weeks, I’d been floating between worlds, never fully solid, never fully real. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even cry properly because the tears would just phase through my face. But now, with our fingers locked together, I felt warm and whole for the first time since my sacrifice.
"Don’t let go," I whispered, squeezing his hand as tight as I could.
"Never," he promised, and I believed him.
But then Elder Iris shouted something about a Void King, and I saw the huge shadow rising from the dimensional tears. My brief moment of happiness crashed down around me.
"We have to run," I said, trying to pull Caleb away from the growing darkness.
"I’m not leaving you behind again," he said strongly.
"You’re not leaving me behind. I’m coming with you."
It felt so good to say that. For the first time in forever, I wasn’t the one being left behind or risking myself. I was part of the group again, part of the team.
We ran together, my hand still in his, and I wondered at how normal it felt. Like the old days, before everything went wrong. Before I became some kind of half-ghost who couldn’t touch anything or anyone.