63

  Time passed without meaning.

  It could have been minutes.

  It could have been hours.

  The fall itself felt endless.

  Finn and Katherine plunged into a darkness that seemed alive, a void that swallowed sound and swallowed hope. Vines clung to the walls of the pit, their roots torn and ancient. And at the moment they should have struck the unseen bottom—

  —the vines moved.

  They reacted as though awakening from centuries of sleep.

  They caught the two falling bodies gently, lowering them in spiraling motions before laying them on cold earth.

  Moisture thickened the air.

  Moss coated stone like velvet.

  The scent of soil and fern wrapped around the air in a damp embrace.

  Somewhere deeper in the cavern, water dripped steadily.

  plip

  …plip

  ……plip

  Katherine lay unmoving, her hair fanned across vines and rock. Her breathing was nonexistent, her skin cold. The memory of Barang’s Karit piercing her heart echoed faintly through what remained of her fading consciousness.

  A soft glow appeared above her face.

  Small—no bigger than a human finger—yet bright enough to paint gentle halos on the cavern walls. The figure hovered silently, wings fluttering with a sound like distant wind chimes.

  The creature leaned close.

  Milk-white skin.

  Elongated, elegant ears.

  A slender body draped in petals.

  Flowers wrapping her chest and thighs like natural attire.

  Four wings shimmering with dust that glinted gold and white.

  The little figure placed a hand on Katherine’s cheek.

  A shiver ran through the cavern.

  The Manta could smell souls.

  She could taste emotions.

  She could read memories—every joy, every fear, every unspoken wish.

  Her tiny nose twitched once.

  “Ah…” she whispered, voice smooth as dew sliding down a leaf. “This one carries longing… sorrow… and a brave heart bursting with love she does not name.”

  She hovered, touching Katherine’s wound gently.

  “I have waited… for many moons. For a spirit like hers.”

  Her wings beat faster—excited, trembling.

  “She will do.”

  The Manta inhaled deeply, then blew a gentle stream of glowing dust across Katherine’s body. The dust spiraled around her, forming a cocoon of shimmering light.

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  The darkness retreated.

  Jasmine flowers burst from the cavern walls—blooming in waves, climbing vines, sprouting from stone. Their glow turned the pit into an otherworldly garden. The scent filled the air—sweet, clean, calming.

  Katherine’s heart jerked.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Her wounds closed rapidly. Her body glowed. Her skin turned a soft, luminous pale. Wings—delicate, ethereal—unfurled from her back like new petals reaching sunlight.

  The Manta dust sank deep into her spirit.

  She opened her eyes.

  A tiny fairy beamed at her.

  “You woke beautifully,” the Manta said with a delighted spin.

  Katherine stared, stunned. Her hands shook as she touched her changed skin, her new wings, the jasmine petals drifting around her.

  Then memory snapped back—

  Finn.

  She gasped, almost falling as she scrambled to her feet.

  “Finn… Finn!”

  Her voice trembled as she reached him. He lay motionless on a soft patch of soil, his face too pale, blood still seeping from his wounds. He didn’t respond to her shaking hands.

  She pressed her ear to his chest.

  No heartbeat.

  No breath.

  Nothing.

  Something inside her cracked.

  “Finn… please… not like this… please don’t leave me…”

  Her tears dripped onto his chest, mixing with the dust that clung faintly to her fingers.

  The Manta landed on her shoulder.

  “You must give him your soul-dust,” she whispered.

  “My soul…?”

  “Yes. Think of giving him what matters most to you. Let your heart choose.”

  Katherine swallowed, trembling.

  She held out her hand and blew.

  A small puff of white-gold dust drifted toward Finn—faded—disappeared.

  Nothing.

  Katherine stared helplessly at the Manta.

  “Again,” the fairy said softly.

  She tried again.

  And again.

  And again.

  Each time weaker than the last.

  Her wings dimmed, shrinking.

  Her skin dulled.

  The jasmine glow around her faltered.

  “No… don’t fade yet… please…”

  She clenched her eyes shut and reached into her heart.

  And she remembered—

  Finn giving her the slush chocolate at the fundraising event, awkwardly hiding a smile.

  The school play, when he stood beside her, hands shaking, shy yet steady.

  The unexpected food delivery to her home.

  The way he looked at her before the river swept them into Maharlika—hopeful, warm.

  And the gaiter in her pocket.

  The one she never gave him.

  The one she wanted him to wear for Christmas before she found the courage to say she liked him.

  Her heart filled with a fierce, aching tenderness.

  She blew one last time.

  The last of her soul-dust.

  It floated to Finn, sinking into his chest like a fading star.

  She pressed her ear to him again—

  Silence.

  Nothing.

  Her tears fell harder.

  But then—

  thump.

  A faint pulse.

  Weak—but real.

  Another.

  Then another.

  She gasped.

  Her hands flew to her mouth.

  A sob burst out—a raw, trembling sound of overwhelming relief.

  Finn lived.

  He still didn’t move, but his heartbeat grew steadier.

  Her wings dissolved completely now, petals fluttering away like passing memories. Her skin returned to human warmth. The jasmine flowers dimmed around them, having given all they could.

  Katherine leaned over him, crying softly, clutching the gaiter in her pocket like a lifeline.

  Hours passed, or maybe seconds.

  Then—

  The cavern shook.

  Wings—massive, leathery—beat against the air. A creature descended through the opening above, its golden horn catching the jasmine glow, fangs reflecting light as it landed with controlled force.

  Its eyes flicked across the cavern, finally settling on Finn.

  Behind the beast, a man dropped down, staggering slightly, hand pressed to his abdomen.

  Durante.

  His breath stopped when he saw his son lying there.

  “Katherine,” he said, voice cracking. “Move aside.”

  The lynx landed beside him, growling low—not at her, but at the danger of Finn’s delicate condition.

  Katherine stepped back, trembling.

  Durante knelt by Finn, eyes filled with terror, fury, and a father’s unstoppable love.

  He placed a shaking hand over his son’s chest—

  —and the jasmine blossoms brightened softly, as if acknowledging the reunion the world had nearly stolen.

  Deep in the forgotten underworld beneath the ruined castle, a father reached for his son…

  …as the fate of all Maharlika continued to turn.