OPERATION WINTERSPINE (Strings Between Us Book 2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: OF VOWS THAT HELD, FEARS THAT SPLINTERED,

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: OF VOWS THAT HELD, FEARS THAT SPLINTERED, AND STRATEGISTS WHO CHOSE TO STAY

Riyee's POV

I woke up earlier than KD.

He was still curled on my bed—one hand loosely gripping the edge of the pillow, like he was afraid it might vanish if he let go. His hair was sticking up at weird angles, the kind of chaos only sleep and honesty could cause. His breathing? Soft. Measured. The kind of calm that didn't come easy to someone like him.

Maybe Keryn's Calm Your Mind Soup worked after all.

I watched him for a while. Just watched. I didn't want to move. Didn't want to disturb this rare, fragile version of him that looked nothing like a weapon, or a ghost of a weapon. He looked like a boy who forgot to be afraid in his dreams.

Quietly, I leaned down and kissed his temple before slipping out of the room.

The Sanctum was still silent. A hush had settled across the halls—like even the walls knew not to wake him. Dim light filtered through the frosted skylights above the war chamber, slicing soft golden lines across the floor. My footsteps barely made a sound as I padded barefoot down toward the common lounge.

I wasn't even surprised when I saw him already there.

Xythe. Of course.

He was cross-legged on the couch, a mug in one hand and some beat-up manga in the other. His glasses had slid halfway down his nose—typical Xythe, looking like he belonged everywhere and nowhere at once.

I didn't bother greeting him. Just walked straight to the Nespresso machine. Because honestly? If I was going to survive dream-triggered tethers, Lucem flashbacks, pulse-sync anchors, and the constant, gnawing fear that I might lose the boy I love to something rotting in the corners of his mind—then caffeine was non-negotiable.

"Ari."

I froze mid-step, then turned.
He hadn't even bothered to look up—eyes still on the page, mug balanced like he had all the time in the world.

"I'm not killing him," he said. Calm. Like a promise I was supposed to believe. Steady enough to sound like reassurance—yet sharp enough to remind me it could just as easily be a warning.

"What?" My hand stilled over the coffee capsule.

"Your pulse pattern spiked the second you saw me." He finally turned a page, casual, unbothered. "Looked like you were half a second from drawing Artemis on me."

He finally looked up, and his eyes—God, those icy blue eyes—weren't judging. Just knowing. Like they'd already read every fracture in me.

"So let me be clear." His voice didn't waver. "I'm not killing him."

I didn't answer. Mostly because... maybe he was right. Maybe some part of me did want to draw my blades the second I saw him. Not because he's the enemy—but because he's the last line between KD and the worst-case scenario.

Lyle made it clear: if the tether snaps, if Lucem resurfaces past control, if there's no other option... then it's Xythe who ends it.

KD's life sat in his hands.

And that thought made something in me burn.

Xythe closed his manga with a sigh, setting it aside on the couch.
When he spoke again, his voice had shifted—quieter, steadier.

"I'm not killing the person who stood beside you when you thought your world was falling apart." He leaned forward, eyes catching mine and holding. "I'm not your enemy, Ari. And neither are the others."