Chapter 299

• "Kitten—kitten, it’s me.” Leonardo’s voice was so close, a whisper beside my ear, that I gasped and reached out instinctively to be nearer, craving his warmth. My throat felt raw, voice barely more than a rasp, but the relief that washed over me pushed aside any pain, letting tears flow unchecked.
• “You’re here, you’re alive!” My words tumbled out, and I let myself sink into his arms, inhaling his familiar scent, grounding myself in his touch. I needed this moment to feel real. I’d watched him die, felt my soul crumble when his left this world. Surely this couldn’t be some haunting afterlife vision.
• “I’m here, we both are.” His voice softened, his hands moving slowly over my hair, my shoulders, my arms. The quiet murmur of his reassurances steadied me, soothing the leftover terror in my bones. “This isn’t a dream, you’re awake now.”