Chapter 162: We wont let you die

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: We wont let you die

Reid shook his head, his silver eyes fixed on Amelia as though he were waiting for her to take it all back. He dragged a hand through his hair, then shook his head again, more forcefully this time.

"No. That can’t be right." His brows drawn tightly together. "How do you even know Caleb saw what he thinks he saw? Maybe he misunderstood the vision. That man doesn’t exactly strike me as someone who has everything figured out. Or maybe he was trying to scare you."

"Reid." Amelia waited until he looked at her. "I’m sure."

"But—"

"This is the first time the fortress has ever shown someone else’s fate to another person." Her voice remained quiet, but there was no uncertainty in it. "This wasn’t an ordinary vision."

Reid’s mouth closed. He looked away, his fingers curling against his knees as he struggled to find another explanation.

Dean, however, was already getting to his feet.

"Then we go back and check." He looked down at Amelia, urgency written across his face. "Where is this place? Tell me how to get there."

Amelia watched him rise, her heart twisting at the desperation in his movements.

"Dean, going back won’t change what Caleb saw."

"How do you know that? Let’s head there right now, to the fortress, to confirm" he demanded, then caught himself when he saw her expression. His shoulders lowered slightly, but the tension remained in his jaw. "I’m not asking because I think you’re lying. I just refuse to sit here and accept what you just said."

"I know." Amelia reached for his hand, and he immediately took it. "I wish I had another answer to give you."

Dean stared at their joined hands before slowly lowering himself beside her again.

Enzo had been quiet throughout the exchange. The longer he studied her face, the more troubled his expression became.

"Why do you think you won’t be reincarnated this time?" he asked.

Amelia drew a breath, but it caught halfway in her chest.

"Caleb said my body was disintegrating." She paused, rubbing her thumb over Dean’s knuckles. "Turning into dust."

"What?"

"That’s what he saw. My body was breaking apart while you three were around me."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Amelia forced herself to continue, even though her throat had begun to tighten.

"That has never happened to me in any of my past lives. I’ve died before, but never like that. This time..." She lowered her eyes.

Reid shot to his feet so abruptly that the grass beneath him shifted.

"No. Absolutely not."

His hands curled into fists at his sides. He paced a few steps away, then turned back toward her, his face flushed with anger and fear.

"We’ll prevent it. Whatever it takes, we’ll prevent it." His voice rose as he struggled to contain himself. "What kind of punishment is this? What have we done to deserve something like this? Does the Moon Goddess really intend to take back the woman she blessed us with?"

He let out a bitter laugh that held no humor.

"It’s not fair, Amelia. You’ve already suffered enough. How much more does the world expect you to endure before it leaves you alone?"

Amelia’s chest tightened. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him that everything would be fine, but she couldn’t bring herself to make a promise she had no way of keeping.

Instead, she looked at each of them in turn.

"I don’t know what to do either," she admitted. "I’m scared, too. But I don’t want us to spend whatever time we have left being afraid of something we can’t fully understand."

Reid stopped pacing.

"Whatever time we have left?" he repeated, his expression darkening. "Don’t talk as if you’re already leaving us."

"That’s not what I meant."

"Then don’t make it sound that way."

His words came out harsher than he’d intended. The moment he saw her flinch, his expression shifted. He returned to her side and crouched in front of her, his eyes searching hers.

"I’m not angry with you," he said, his voice softer now.

Amelia reached up and brushed her fingers over his cheek.

"I know."

Reid turned his face slightly into her palm, closing his eyes for a brief moment before covering her hand with his own.

"There’s still something I want us to focus on. I want you three to recover your memories. There has to be a reason you can’t remember what happened during your trials." She looked between the brothers. "You went into those portals, completed whatever challenges were waiting for you, and came back without remembering any of it. That doesn’t feel like a coincidence."

Enzo fell quiet, his brows drawing together as he considered her words.

"It may have something to do with the fact that we still haven’t recovered our memories from our past lives," he said at last.

"That’s what I’m thinking." Amelia nodded. "You might get a memory watch after we leave this place and go to sleep. I believe it will show us what everything we need to know."

Dean moved closer until his shoulder touched hers. Then he bent his head and rested his forehead against her shoulder, his silver hair brushing her arm.

She could see how tightly he was holding himself together.

"I refuse to accept this," he said. "I don’t care what that fortress showed Caleb. I’m not going to sit around waiting for it to come true."

"I don’t accept it either," Amelia replied. "But the Underworld is doing something big. Big enough that my future looks like that."

She looked down at the grass between her feet, tracing a small line in the soil with her fingertip.

"We’ve already seen what they’re capable of. They have influence inside Moonfist Territory, and they’ve started making their moves before we can even understand the full extent of their plans." Her mouth tightened. "Whatever they’re after, they still need me alive for some selfish, fucked-up reason. But once they’ve finished using me, I have no doubt they’ll throw me away."

Enzo’s expression turned cold. "They won’t get the chance."

"That’s what I want to believe." Amelia turned toward him. "But we can’t depend on what we want. We need to be prepared."

She looked at the three men, her eyes lingering on each of their faces.

"I have new abilities now. There could be more that I haven’t discovered yet. These new abilities can be an advantage too. Maybe there are even more gifted powers i haven’t known yet, ot activated yet" Her fingers curled into Enzo’s shirt as she leaned closer to him. "I just hope I don’t discover it too late."

Dean reached for her free hand and threaded his fingers through hers.

None of them spoke.

Their silence wasn’t empty. It held all the things they couldn’t promise her, all the fears they didn’t know how to put into words

She let herself lean into them.

Perhaps it was selfish, but she wanted to remember this moment. She wanted to remember how it felt to be surrounded by people who loved her enough to be frightened of losing her.

A cold thought crept into her mind. It might be a long time before the four of them could sit together like this again.

She pushed it away, but the unease remained. Exhaustion began to weigh on her again. Her eyelids grew heavy, and her body ached from the journey and everything that had happened since they entered the Divine Beasts Territory.

Enzo noticed her struggling to stay upright.

"Come here," he murmured.

Before she could protest, he shifted and guided her head onto his chest. His arm settled around her shoulders, drawing her against him until she could rest without straining her tired muscles.

Amelia let out a quiet sigh and curled closer, her cheek resting over his heartbeat. His hand moved slowly along her upper arm, the gentle, repetitive motion soothing her more than she wanted to admit.

"You should rest," he told her.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and she closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy the simple comfort of being held.

Nearby, Dean stretched out on the grass and stared up at the sky. His hands rested behind his head, but there was nothing relaxed about his expression. After several moments, he spoke.

"What are we going to do?"

The question hung over them.

Reid looked toward Enzo, waiting for an answer. Dean turned his head slightly, his eyes still troubled.

For several seconds, Enzo said nothing.

"We’ll do what we do best."

Reid’s brows lifted slightly. "And what’s that?"

Enzo’s mouth curved into a faint, dangerous smile.

"Be the devilish brothers."