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Sadie made a broken sound beside us.

Declan went down with me.

He never let go.

“What are you hearing?” he asked.

I tried to answer.

My lips moved. Nothing.

His face tightened. “Come on, babygirl. Stay with me.”

I looked at him.

His lips had moved with the words. This was real. He was.

Declan.

Snap.

Static. The world skipped.

Trees overhead. A strip of black sky. My palm against dirt. My heart beating too fast.

Don’t stop.

Then Declan again.

“I’m here, babygirl.”

People around us. Too many. A circle forming. Phones appearing.

Ruckus’s voice somewhere beyond them. “Back the fuck up.”

Rook said something sharper. The crowd shifted.

I put one knee on the concrete.

Declan caught me beneath one arm. “Hazel.”

The voice below had gone faint again. I leaned toward it.

Declan pulled me back.

Panic tore through me.

No.

No, no, no.

I needed to hear. It was important. I fought him.

Not hard. Not at first.

His eyes widened. “Hazel.”

I pulled harder.