Chapter 22: Ashes and Silence
What followed wasn't a fight.
It was a massacre.
Cristoff didn't survive it.
Neither did the man Tristana once called father—not in any way that mattered.
But when it was over…
Justin didn't feel better.
Didn't feel whole.
Didn't feel anything—
Except for the absence of her.
Epilogue: Where Love Still Lingers
The grave overlooked the forest.
Peaceful.
Quiet.
Cruel.
Justin stood there, unmoving.
"I still talk to you," he said softly.
"I don't think I'll ever stop."
The wind stirred, brushing against him like a ghost of a touch.
"You were my home," he murmured.
"And I lost you before I ever got to live there."
Silence answered him.
As it always did.
The End.