Page 144 of Heart of Thieves

“He could be hurt!” he shouts, trying to pry my fingers off his bicep.

I dig them in hard. “He’s not.”

“I’m not letting him die!” he bellows.

“He’s already dead!” I scream.

Nic stares at me.

I break, sobbing so hard my body convulses. My tears swirl around the disbelief in his face.

“How do you know?” he whispers.

I grip my chest like I might wrench out my own heart with my bare fingers. Wishing I could, because maybe then it wouldn’t feel so gods-damned empty.

He pulls out of my grasp, and this time I let him. He stumbles backward, unseeing, clawing his hair, eyes squeezing shut.

And then he crumples to his knees, throws back his head, and lets out a guttural roar that tears me to pieces.

I hobble to him, crouching at his side and pulling his head against my chest. He clings to me, sobbing, and I’m crying, too, and we ride the tidal wave of pain together.

Then something scrapes behind us. An intake of air. A quiet laugh.

A voice croaks from nearby. “Which is closer, me or this massive moonshard?”

I gasp, leaping to my feet as I whirl.

A form, fuzzy at first, solidifies next to the moonshard, leaning on it with arms crossed like it’s a random day of the week. Like he didn’t just disappear. Like I didn’t watch him die.

Nic makes a choking noise and barrels at him, pinning Enzo to the floor with his forearm to his windpipe. “You bastard.”

“I’m touched, big brother. Maybe I should die more often.” He smirks.

“You couldn’t have, I don’t know, made yourself a new body faster?” Nic asks, releasing his throat and yanking him to his feet by his collar before wrapping his arms around him so tightly it could break him in half.

“It took a minute to figure out how to build one from scratch,” Enzo protests. “Now that I have this shiny, brand-new moonshard and all.” He looks at me and winks.

Tears are still streaking down my cheeks and dripping off my chin. “Why did you do that?” I hiccup.

“Make a new body? I should think it would be obvious.”

I cross my arms, sniffing. “You know what I’m referring to.”

His eyes soften, and his grin fades. “Because,” he says, “you are more important to me than anything I fear. I’m just sorry it took me so long to realize it.”

I run forward, leaping into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as he spins me, clutching me close.

“You’re not allowed to die, okay?” I whisper into his curls.

“Right back at you, Lockpick.”

“I told you Lola likes me better, Nic,” Enzo says over my head as he sets me down.

“What are you talking about?” Nic asks, crossing his arms in mock-jealousy.

“Yes, I think we’d all like to know,” I tease.

“She just made me my own moonshard,” Enzo says, jabbing a thumb at the voratium. “Has she ever made you one?”