Derek reached down into the crater and grabbed Leo's hand. He pulled. Leo's body scraped against the broken earth, loose rocks tumbling back down into the hole. His clothes were torn. His face was dusted with ash. His limbs hung at wrong angles that were already starting to correct themselves.
"Told you," Derek said. His voice was flat. Smug.
Leo groaned. His eyes focused slowly, blinking against the grey light. "Shut up."
"Big crater."
"I said shut up."
Selene stood at the edge of the crater, her hands pressed together, her white hair falling across her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I was just—I got excited—I didn't—"
Leo waved a hand at her. "It's fine." He pulled himself the rest of the way out, his joints popping, his bones settling. "I've had worse."
Derek climbed out after him, brushing dirt off his sleeves. His smirk hadn't faded. It probably wouldn't fade for the rest of the day.
Selene looked between them, her eyes wide, her guilt written across every line of her face. "Are you sure? Your ribs—"
"Will heal." Leo rolled his shoulder. The socket clicked back into place. "See?"
Selene didn't look reassured. She looked like she wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.
Derek clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You're doing fine. You just need to learn how to pull your punches."
"I don't know how to do that."
"Then learn."
Selene nodded slowly, her jaw set, her eyes determined.
Leo groaned again and limped toward a tree. "I'm taking five minutes."
Derek's smirk widened. "Take ten."
───
Absolute 2 Eva sat on the edge of Lily's bed. Her hands were folded in her lap, her back was straight, but her shoulders were relaxed. Eva sat across from her on the floor, her legs crossed, her chin resting on her hand.
"She used to steal my socks," Absolute 2 Eva said. "Not because she wanted to wear them. Just because she knew it annoyed me. I would wake up in the morning, and one sock would be missing. Every time. I never found where she hid them."
Eva laughed. It was a small sound, quiet, but real. "That sounds like her."
"She would also sing. When she thought no one was listening." Absolute 2 Eva's voice softened. "She was terrible. Completely tone-deaf. But she didn't care. She would just stand there, washing dishes or folding laundry or whatever, and sing her heart out like she was performing in an opera."
Eva's throat tightened. "She sang to me. When I had nightmares. She made up this song about stars."
Absolute 2 Eva nodded slowly. "She sang that song to everyone. Anyone who was hurting. Anyone who needed to feel less alone." She paused. "She never changed the words. It was always the same. Wrong melody, wrong timing, wrong everything. But it didn't matter. Because she meant it."
Eva wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I miss her."
"I know."
They sat in silence, the space between them smaller than it had been before, the weight of Lily's memory pressing down on them both, holding them together.
───
Wolfen sat on the edge of Zoey's bed, his hands hanging between his knees, his head down. His shoulders were shaking. His breathing was uneven. Tears dripped from his chin onto the floor.
Zoey sat beside him. Close. Not touching.
She had seen everything. Every kill. Every betrayal. Every moment of weakness, of cruelty, of despair. She had seen the faces of the people he'd killed—the ones who deserved it, the ones who didn't, the ones he still saw every time he closed his eyes.
She had seen the boy he used to be. The man he had become. The monster he thought he was.
And she was still here.
"Wolfen." Her voice was soft.
He didn't look up.
"Wolfen." She reached out. Her hand hovered over his, not touching, just there. "Look at me."
He shook his head.
"Please."
His hand turned over. His palm was facing up. She placed her hand in his.
He looked up. His eyes were red, swollen, wet. His face was streaked with tears. He looked exhausted. He looked old. He looked like someone who had been carrying something heavy for a very long time and had finally, finally set it down.
"I'm sorry," he said. His voice cracked. "I'm sorry you had to see—"
"Don't." Zoey squeezed his hand. "Don't apologize."
"I should have—"
"Wolfen." Her voice was firm. "Stop."
He stopped.
She looked at him. At his eyes. At the tears still falling, still wet on his cheeks. At the man who had killed thousands and wept like a child in front of her.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said.
Wolfen's breath hitched.
"I'm not leaving you. I don't care what you've done. I don't care what you've seen. I don't care what you think you are." She moved closer, her shoulder pressing against his. "You're not alone. You don't have to be alone anymore."
Wolfen's face crumpled.
He leaned into her. His forehead pressed against her shoulder. His hands gripped hers like she was the only thing keeping him from falling apart completely.
Zoey wrapped her arms around him and held on.
Outside, the wind blew. The trees swayed. The world kept turning.
And in a small room in a facility that had been built for monsters, two broken people held each other in the dark.