The silence that followed the fading radio was almost unreal.
Only the faint hum of crickets and Clara's ragged breathing filled the night. Her head drooped forward, blood streaming from her nose in thick, crimson lines.
"Clara…" Adrian whispered, reaching out to hold her face.
She tried to speak, but the words dissolved before reaching her lips.
Then her knees gave way, and she collapsed in his arms.
"Clara!" he cried, his voice cracking. His fingers brushed her neck, her pulse was faint but still there.
Luca placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We have to move. Now. It's not safe here."
"I can't just leave her like this… "
"There's no time!" Luca cut him off. "I know a place nearby. A safe house. Old, hidden… no one will find us there."
Adrian looked up at him, eyes sharp with mistrust. "And the police?"
Luca shook his head. "I don't trust anyone anymore. If the Sanctuary has men everywhere, they might have them among my own. You and Clara are under my responsibility now. It's the least I can do."
Adrian said nothing. He bent down, lifted Clara into his arms, light, fragile, her head falling limp against his shoulder.
Blood had soaked through her shirt and smeared across his chest, warm and sticky.
They walked for what felt like hours through the darkness of the woods, guided only by the beam of Luca's phone.
The scent of wet earth and burnt fuel filled the air. Every now and then, a branch snapped beneath their feet; an owl hooted far away.
Adrian felt no fatigue, only the suffocating fear of losing her.
Finally, between the trees, a low wooden cabin appeared. Its windows were dark, surrounded by a rusted wire fence.
Luca crouched down, found a key hidden under a flat stone, and unlocked the door.
"Go in," he said. "No one comes here without a reason."
Inside, the dim flicker of a kerosene lamp lit the room.
Rolled blankets on an iron bed, a bare kitchen, and the sound of wind slipping through the cracks.
Adrian carried Clara into one of the two bedrooms. He laid her gently on the bed, brushed the hair from her face, and wiped the blood from her skin with a trembling handkerchief.
"Please… wake up," he whispered.
Luca returned with a bottle of water and some disinfectant. He bandaged his own wounded hand, then looked at Adrian.
"You should patch yourself up too. That side wound's still open. I'll rest in the other room, we'll all need our strength."
Adrian nodded, but didn't move.
He stayed by Clara's side, watching her, as the lamp's light trembled on the walls.
Every few minutes, his hand would reach out to caress her cheek, a silent reminder that she wasn't alone.
Time blurred. Minutes, maybe hours. Then her fingers twitched. A deeper breath. A faint tremor. Her eyes fluttered open, glassy with fever.
"Adrian…"
"I'm here."
She glanced around, disoriented. "Where are we?"
"In a safe place. Luca brought us here."
Clara closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again, fear sparking inside. "I dreamed of her."
"Who?"
"Aurora." Tears welled up instantly. "She was calling me, Adrian. Asking me to find her. She said she was scared."
He clasped her hand, their fingers intertwining tightly.
"We'll find her. But right now, you need to rest, or your power will drain you. You've lost too much blood."
Clara shook her head, weak but resolute.
"I can't stop now… she's out there, alone…"
"Clara," he interrupted, brushing his thumb along her cheek. "If you fall apart, we lose her forever. You're her link to us. If you break, everything ends."
She stared at him, tears trembling in her eyes. "I can't breathe not knowing where she is."
He leaned in until his forehead rested against hers. Their breaths mingled, warm, uneven, desperate.
"Then breathe with me," he whispered. "Take my breath, take my heart, as long as I hold you, nothing in this world can break you."
The words washed through her like a calm tide after a storm.
Clara placed her hand on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
She moved closer, lips brushing against his. The kiss was slow, trembling, full of pain and yearning.
He pulled her closer, and for a moment, the world vanished.
Only their breaths existed, shallow and feverish, the sound of skin shivering under fingertips, the realization that they were still alive, still together.
Passion rose between them, raw and unstoppable. There was no room for fear, only the desperate need to feel, to hold, to exist through each other.
Adrian's arms wrapped around her; his lips traced her temple, her neck, the faint wound above her brow.
His hand moved along her body, as if driven by a furious need. He unbuttoned her blouse and his hand caressed her breasts, making her moan with pleasure as their lips looked for each other.
They undressed with a fervor that screamed need, an uncontrolled need to belong. He whispered in her ear: "let me feel that you are mine" while his hand slid along her side, like a breath, making her body run shivering.
Adrian's hand hesitated around her navel, then continued lower. "Tell me you want me Clara, tell me we're one soul" and she, panting, could do nothing but nod and enjoy under Adrian's touch. He made her sit on his legs and in a moment they were transported to another world.
They moved at the same pace, one of his hands intertwined with hers and the other enclocking her neck to guide her. They exploded in unison and at that moment they really felt that they were one soul. They remained embraced looking into each other's eyes.
"You're my truth," he murmured, "even when the world lies."
"And you're my home. Wherever you are, Adrian… I'm safe."
Their fingers intertwined again, like a silent vow. Outside, the wind whispered through the trees. Inside, their hearts beat in unison, the rhythm of two souls who had already lost everything except each other.