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As the zombies vanished into the distance, moving faster than they should have, we all ran to catch up. The tear in the Veil narrowed in leaps and bounds.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd behind me. Shocked joy. Relief. Someone shouted, “It’s closing!” and another voice answered with a disbelieving laugh. They couldn’t see what I saw. Just the flashes of lightning. The jagged purple line flickering and shrinking, as if the tear itself were being zipped back together bit by bit.

The warehouse came into view. Rain slicked the pavement. Dim lights cast eerie shadows on the zombies spread out along the tear, hands up and moving in unison with⁠—

Jude.

He was barely solid. Transparent at the edges, his pajamas soaked through, his hands raised toward the weave like a conductor leading an invisible orchestra. Beside him, Zhenjun stood with his own hands lifted, stitching delicate but firm repairs, dragging the edges of the splice back together.

The zombies’ bony fingers moved in stiff, deliberate patterns, weaving sections together. I couldn’t see the threads, but I could tell the repairs were clumsy. Less smooth. Less even.

But they were fixing it.

I gasped, slowing to a stop, afraid that any sound or movement would interrupt them and send the tear back to its devouring maw.

“What the hell?” someone asked behind me. “Zombies can fix tears?”

I realized they couldn’t see Jude or Zhenjun. Only the work the zombies were doing.

Wade slid to a stop beside me, his gaze meeting mine. I gave him a slow nod. Jude is there. He held my look for a heartbeat, then nodded and began directing the group to give them space.

Rain dripped in my eyes as my chest heaved. I stood frozen, useless, watching Jude fade in and out like a signal struggling to hold.

How do I help without making this worse?

The tear pulsed. Jude’s form flickered. His hands shook as he gripped threads I couldn’t see. He was running out of strength. Zhenjun looked just as strained as he continued to focus on each repair.

Could they do it? And worse, what would happen if they didn’t? The entire city would be swallowed, millions of lives at risk as the tear merged and settled.

I stepped closer, slow and deliberate, afraid to disturb the delicate work. I drew on our bond and pressed everything I had into it, my energy, strength, affection, hope. Everything I had left, I shoved through our connection into Jude.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Jude’s exhaustion was transparent on his face, but he kept working. Determination keeping him going.

Take my strength, I pushed energy at him through the bond. Whatever you need.

The world tilted. My vision blurred at the edges.

Just a little more.

Everyone around us held their collective breath. Wade kept everyone back, letting the zombies work, since that’s all they saw. A miracle, many whispered. But I knew the truth. Not a miracle. A sacrifice.

The tear shrank to a crack.

Pop.

The sound was barely a whisper.

The tear closed.

Jude glanced my way, a slight smile on his lips, then he vanished. One heartbeat to the next, gone. Our bond went silent. Echoing. Empty.

The zombies collapsed, falling like the puppets they’d been to the hard ground. Once again, motionless.

My knees hit the pavement. My chest was too tight to breathe.

Jude?