They found shelter in what had once been a mountain watchtower.
Most of its roof was gone, the walls cracked, but it was standing—and more importantly, dry.
Felix went straight for the corner with the least snow and collapsed there without ceremony. "Wake me if the mountain decides to eat us," he muttered before pulling his coat over his face.
Kyle shook his head, smirking faintly. "You're hopeless."
"Still alive though," Felix replied from under the coat. "You can thank me later."
The Slow Quiet
The wind outside howled, but inside, the air was still. Kyle and Gia sat near the remains of a broken hearth, the flicker of a small fire casting orange light across their faces.
Kyle's ribs still ached from the fight. His hands were raw, his coat torn in more places than he could count. But he couldn't stop looking at her.
She was tending to a shallow cut on her arm, but every now and then, her eyes flicked up to meet his. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Breaking the Silence
"You scared me back there," Gia said finally.
Kyle arched a brow. "Me? You were the one diving into god-sized nightmares with nothing but portal magic and stubbornness."
She smiled faintly. "And you were the one who kept putting yourself between me and everything else."
"That's kind of my thing," he said, leaning back against the wall.
Gia tilted her head. "Because you care, or because you're reckless?"
Kyle met her gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching into something that wasn't quite a smirk. "Both. But mostly because I care."
The Confession
He leaned forward then, elbows resting on his knees. "Look, I'm not… great at this stuff. I'm moody, sarcastic, and apparently a magnet for things that want to kill me. But through all of it—every fight, every close call—you were the thing I didn't want to lose."
Gia's breath caught, her eyes softening.
"I'm saying…" He exhaled, almost laughing at himself. "…I like you. More than I've probably been letting on. And if we're ever going to get something good after all this insanity, I want it to be with you."
For a moment, the only sound was the wind outside. Then she leaned forward, closing the space between them, and kissed him—slow, certain, and warm despite the cold air.
When they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his. "Took you long enough."
A Different Kind of Tomorrow
Felix groaned loudly from his corner. "If you two start making out again, I'm jumping off this tower."
Gia laughed, the sound light for the first time in what felt like forever. Kyle just shook his head. "Guess we'll keep it PG until he's asleep."
"Too late," Felix mumbled, already drifting off.
The three of them stayed there, the fire crackling, the shadows dancing on the walls. Outside, the scar in the sky still glowed faintly—but for tonight, it didn't matter.
They'd survived.
They'd found each other.
And for the first time, Kyle believed there might be something worth living for beyond the fight.
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