OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: OF MIDNIGHT GHOSTS, SUMMER BOYS, AND THE

But I could pretend. For now.

Silence settled between us like a soft blanket. Comfortable. Dangerous. The kind that made you want to believe this could last.

Then he whispered, "Can I sleep here again?"

I arched a brow. "You are already on my bed, KD. The 'asking' part passed about twenty illegal seconds ago."

He chuckled, the sound low and genuine. "My sleep's better when I'm here. No weird dreams."

That made me pause.

I shifted to look at him. "Weird dreams?"

He went quiet. Not like he was hiding something-more like he was weighing every word before handing it to me.

"In the dream, I'm looking in a mirror," he said slowly. "Only it's not me. The face is younger. Pale. Hollow. Like it's been through too much for a kid."

I stilled.

"I raise my hand, and the boy in the mirror does the same. But his hand's stained with something black. I don't know if it's oil or blood. Then the mirror cracks."

A chill passed through me.

KD swallowed, then added, "There's a name whispered behind me. Lucem. I turn around-no one's there. But when I wake up, the name's still in my head. Like smoke."

I went still.

Lucem.

We were just talking about possible triggers earlier and here he is talking about his weird dream.

But it wasn't just a dream. Not just fragments of memory. It was a thread unraveling.

KD didn't know who he really was. But his mind was starting to remember.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I wanted to scream. To cry. To grab time by the throat and beg it to slow down. Let me breathe. Let me love him just a little longer before everything shattered.

But I didn't. I just leaned in and hugged him tighter.

"I'm here," I whispered. "I'm right here."

Even if the past was clawing its way back. Even if the boy in the mirror wasn't done haunting him. I will be right here with him. That's how much I love him. I will be willing to fight his past just to preserve his present.

He exhaled slowly, his hand on my back. Solid. Warm. Present.

I didn't know how long we stayed like that.

Then I mumbled, "Let's sleep."

"While hugging?" he teased.

I groaned. "Don't make me change my mind."

"You won't," he said confidently, smug as hell. "You love summer KD."

"Sometimes I want to throw summer KD off the balcony," I muttered. "And bring back the Ice President."

He smirked. "No, you don't. You said it before—you like this version. The one who annoys you."

I rolled my eyes, but the stupid flutter in my chest said he wasn't wrong.

"Fine. We hug until we sleep."

He tucked us closer, his arms wrapping around me like a promise. And gods, I wanted to believe it. That this could last. That he could stay this warm, this unbroken.

But the truth curled like a thorn beneath my ribs. Because the world didn't let people like us stay untouched.

My fingers curled into his shirt.

"I used to just worry about the rumors I got because of you," I whispered. "Because of your stupid rare smile you gave me during the general assembly. Because of those subtle glances you give in the hallways. Because of your 'she's my date' declaration last Acquaintance Ball. Because of all those girls who hated me just for being near you."

I paused. Swallowed.

"I thought leaving Celestine would bring me peace. A quiet life. No more warzones. But look at me now—same mess, different battlefield."

KD hummed. "Because you ghosted them and they followed you."

I gave a weak laugh. "I hate life."

I didn't mean it. I just hated how much it hurt to love someone with an expiration date written in secrets and shattered glass.

"I just want a normal life," I said. "One without crowns. Without knives behind every corner. Without ghosts."

"Without me too?" he asked.

He said it like a joke. But he was bracing for an answer.

I looked up at him, this boy who somehow found his way past every locked door I built.

"Definitely, with you," I whispered. "But the peaceful version. The one who doesn't come assassination attempts."

He laughed softly. "I didn't ask for that."

I didn't say anything else.

Because I was already falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

And because I knew deep down, trying might not be enough.

But for tonight, I would let him hold me.

Even if the morning came with blood.