Sera did not slow down. She didn't look back.
Her boots whispered across the frozen flats, Luci tucked against her ribs like a secret, and the night seemed to make room for her.
It was like the snow knew her rhythm. Like the ice bent to her weight. Alexei felt the distance stretching between them and laughed.
"Catch me if you can," she had said.
He would.
He lengthened his stride, each step faster than the last.
His body should have fought him. He should have felt his lungs burning, muscles protesting, boots sliding…but none of that came.
Instead, the air ran smoother, the ground steadier. The faster he went, the more right it felt.
Psycho's voice purred in his skull, pleased. Now you understand. This is not running. This is remembering.
The world blurred, but his vision did not.
