31-Thorne POV
I knew I was failing her, but I couldn't reach myself, my soul. I recognized her...her smell, smile, the way she walked. She swayed something inside me and I desperately kept trying to reach it, but I was being blocked at every turn. Xeros was fighting hard to break the chains, but ultimately he knew he had to leave me to find the cure. He'd been my stalwart companion for many years, his centuries of lived experience alerted him to the knowledge that this was an old and ancient spell. Now I was left alone, in the dark.
"Hey...babe..." Brooke's soft voice penetrated my somber mood and brought me back to the present.
"Hey," I tried to c***k a smile, but I couldn't bear it. It felt like the weight of a thousand worlds was resting on my shoulder. I wanted to reach out, to run
