He catches me as my knees lock up. Before I have a chance to fall—I am in his arms. The bullet went in. I know it did, because he pulls his hand away and it’s red. Very red. But I feel no pain.

  The sounds of the battle fade until it’s just the two of us.

  I guess a small part of me thought Ivan would notice me running. That he would stay his hand in favor of my safety. But there were too many people. Too much chaos. Or maybe he was too focused on his target to notice me at all. Even still, I don’t think it would have made a difference. I would do it again a million times over. I just wish it’d been anyone but Ivan.

  Oh, Ivan.

  Jaxon was right. This will destroy him. My hope to bring Eli and Ivan together now looks so far away. Like a ship shrinking on the horizon, moments before it disappears forever. Their reconciliation—if it exists at all—no longer rests in my hands.

  “I guess this makes us even.” I try to smile but something in Eli’s eyes stops me. Like he’s the one with a hole in his chest and not me.

  Chaos. Anger. Disbelief. Fear.

  These do not surprise me. I’ve seen them before at some time or another. But there is another. Something deeper than all the rest.

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  A desperate child screaming in sorrow. In pain. In loss.

  I’m sorry, Eli.

  I tried, but I wasn’t fast enough to save us both. Maybe I was the selfish one.

  I cannot deny that part of me wanted to die if it meant being left here without you. I would do anything to keep myself from that pain. But now I’m the one going and you’re left behind. But you’re strong. I know you will survive.

  I feel his lips on mine. They are soft and salty. They move to my forehead and then my nose before I feel them again on my lips. I see why he tastes salty. Tears stream down his face. I’ve never seen him cry before.

  “I love you.”

  It feels good to say the words again after all this time. I love him. The one person who is always there when I need him. But I don’t think we were meant to be together. I wanted it. He did too. We would have been a family. Together, we could have raised children. We could have been happy. But I realize now he is meant for something else. Something more than a simple life with me.

  I feel cold. Eli’s body begins to tremble. Fear takes over the sorrow in his eyes. I must not have long.

  “Thank you, Eli.”

  I want to lift my hand to his face and I do but it is difficult. My hand is heavy, as if my fingers were made of lead.

  The world darkens around the edges. My life is ebbing away, but it’s too soon. I want to stay here. Stay with him. But now I’m forced to go and where I go, he cannot follow. Not this time.

  I open my lips to speak but nothing comes out. The last thing I feel is the faint chill of a tear slipping down the side of my face before everything goes black.

  Goodbye, Eli.