Aria's POV
I couldn't look at Damon. I kept staring into the darkness where Joshua had disappeared.
Lydia whimpered inside me. We lost him.
I shook my head. "No."
Aria...
"No." My voice broke. "We didn't lose him." I pressed my trembling hand against my chest. "He's still alive."
Lydia didn't answer because neither of us knew if it was true.
The mate bond pulsed faintly between Damon and me. His arms tightened around my body, but even his warmth couldn't reach the emptiness spreading through my chest.
Joshua had already sacrificed himself once, and now he had done it again. For me, for my freedom, for my life.
The weight of everything finally became too much. My body trembled violently as the adrenaline drained from my veins, leaving behind nothing but bone-deep exhaustion.
I tri
