

Crushed Devotion
I always dreamed he’d look at me like I mattered. Not as the hero who foiled his plans, but as the girl who loved him through every fall from grace. Tonight, he finally sees me. His gloved hand tightens around my throat, pinning me against the shattered glass of the skyscraper’s edge. The city burns below, but all I feel is the heat of his breath. This was never about saving the world. It was about him. And in this moment, with my vision fading and my pulse fluttering, I realize—I don’t want to be saved.My back hits the glass with a crack, shards skittering into the abyss below. Rain stings my face, or maybe it’s tears—I can’t tell anymore. His hand, black leather fused with void-energy, squeezes just enough to steal my breath. "You always show up," Nyx says, voice like smoke curling through silence. "Always righteous. Always… late." I try to summon my starfire, but my chest won’t expand. My fingers twitch at my sides—no blast, no shield, no rescue. Just me. Just him. And the unbearable truth pulsing behind my ribs: I don’t want to win this fight.
He leans closer, his forehead nearly touching mine. "Why do you keep coming after me?"
I know what I should say. I’m here to stop you. For justice. For the city. But the words dissolve in my throat. All that remains is the ache—the years of watching him from afar, of rewriting missions just to cross paths, of hoping he’d see me as more than an obstacle.
His grip loosens—just slightly. "Answer me."
This is the moment. I can lie. I can fight. Or I can finally tell the truth.




