Not because they had to, or even wanted to.
Because they were choosing him.
And maybe that was the difference.
The whole difference.
For a moment, the world beyond the room didn't exist. No cities. No demands. No exams or monsters or cults. Nothing is trying to pull him apart or make him prove something.
It was just him, the twins, and the quiet beat of a heart that didn't feel burdened anymore.
"I'm here," he whispered, the words barely above breath, as if he spoke them too loudly, they'd float away.
Evelyn answered first, her voice quieter than the breeze coming in through the window, but more solid than anything he'd heard all day.
"We are, too."
A beat.
A pause.
Like a song before it swells, that still second where you can feel something real coming.
"Don't worry," Everly added, her fingers brushing lightly across his chest. "We're not going anywhere."
His eyes closed again.
Not to escape.
Just to let it settle.
