Chapter 29 –
The relay station burned behind us, a fractured silhouette against the night sky.
We didn't look back.
Jace had my hand in a firm grip, pulling me through the woods with Ethan and Lena close behind. Kael took point, his movements silent but urgent. My parents were in the middle, flanked on both sides like fragile glass we couldn't afford to drop.
Every step was laced with the sound of our own breathing, the pounding of my heart, and somewhere far behind — the faint rumble of engines. They were coming.
"We need to cross the river before dawn," Kael said over his shoulder. "If they've got tracking drones in the air, open terrain will get us killed."
My dad stumbled on a root, but Ethan caught him before he fell. Jace squeezed my hand tighter, as if he could keep me from breaking apart just by holding on.
By midnight, we found shelter in a hollowed-out cabin deep in the trees. Its roof sagged, and the wind moaned through the cracks, but it was better than nothing.
Kael took first watch outside. Ethan and Lena spread out blankets for my parents, whispering quietly. The adrenaline in my veins refused to fade, keeping me wide-eyed in the darkness.
Jace was sitting by the far wall, his shoulders tense, his eyes fixed on the door. He looked like a storm held in human form — ready to break at the first sign of trouble.
I moved toward him without thinking. "You haven't said a word since we left."
His gaze flicked to mine. "If I start talking, I'll start thinking about what could've happened back there."
I knelt in front of him, resting my hands on his knees. "We made it out. That's what matters."
Something shifted in his eyes — that guarded steel softening into something warmer, almost aching. "No, Valerie. You matter. And I nearly lost you tonight."
The cabin's shadows wrapped around us. The distant sound of Kael pacing outside faded until all I could hear was the rhythm of Jace's breathing and my own.
"I don't want to wait for the next time we're almost killed," he said quietly, his fingers brushing my cheek. "I want you now. While we still have this."
The world outside didn't matter — not the Dominion, not the engines, not the fear. Only the heat of his touch, the pull of his mouth against mine.
I kissed him like it was the last thing I'd ever get to do. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him until there was no space left between us. The cabin floor was rough under my knees, his heartbeat fierce under my palms.
We didn't speak. Words would have broken it.
When it was over, we lay tangled together beneath his jacket, listening to the wind move through the trees. For the first time all night, I wasn't cold.
But somewhere in the distance, a branch cracked — sharp, deliberate.
Jace's hand tightened around mine. "They've found us."