Chapter 77: Shared Nightmares Anna’s POV

My chest heaved as if I had just raced miles through the bush when I bolted up, panting for air. The images from the dream clung to my mind like cobwebs I couldn’t shake off, leaving my skin damp and my hair stuck to my forehead. Leo’s face, his wounded hands, the betrayal in his eyes, and the sound of Oliver’s speech echoing over the jeering throng were all still vivid in my thoughts.

Before my crying began to echo around the silent cabin, I pressed my palm to my mouth and silenced it. My fingers ached from gripping the blanket with my other hand. Tonight, the moonlight streaming in through the window seemed harsher, creating sharp shadows that made the cramped space feel even more confining.

"Anna?"

I was startled by the slurred speech and quickly turned my head in the direction of the door. The weak glow from the common room lit Lucas’s body, his shadow stretching across the floor. His face was unreadable as he took a step closer.

"What's the matter?" His voice had eased, becoming more worried.

I lied, my voice shaky and harsh, "Nothing. Go back to your bed."

As he entered the room fully, he commented, "It sounded like you were crying out in your sleep. What happened?"

"I'm fine," I said, my tone harder than I had meant it to be, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to talk this with him.

Lucas stayed still, his penetrating eyes examining me as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "You're not okay. I can see that."

I tightened my jaw, trying to hold onto the anger that kept the pain and fear at bay. "What makes you think you know what's going on?"

He didn’t rise to the bait, but his face stiffened. "Because I do. Tell me what’s happening now."

With my back to him, I turned away. "You have no business with it."

In a more determined tone, he said, "Anna, you don’t have to face this alone."

I shook my head and laughed bitterly. "I've only ever known being alone. It's safer that way."

"Safer?" His steps were slow and measured as he approached. "Do you really think that’s true? Because it looks like it’s pulling you apart from where I’m standing."

I couldn’t reply, the lump in my throat constricting.

Lucas lowered his voice as he knelt next to the bed. "Is this about Leo?"

The ease with which he saw through me made my breath catch, and I swore under my breath. "Yes," I grudgingly said, my voice barely a whisper.

"What did you see?"

I paused, twisting the blanket’s edge with my fingers. "The night they put him to death, I saw him. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t save him." My voice cracked, and I took a shaky breath. "Watching him die felt so real, like I was there again."

As Lucas listened, his jaw tightened, his face briefly taking on the same haunted look I had.

With remorse in his voice, he responded softly, "I’m sorry."

"Sorry?" The rage flared up again, and I laughed. "Do you think that fixes anything? He died because of lies, falsehoods that you helped spread."

"I understand," he said, his voice heavy with sadness. "And I will carry that guilt for the rest of my life. But Anna, I swear to you, if I could go back and change things, I would."

I wasn’t prepared for the raw honesty in his words. It began to chip away at the walls I had built around my heart, and I hated the way I wanted to believe him—how my rage was starting to dissolve, leaving a weak spot behind.

"I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you," I whispered, my voice trembling.

His eyes never wavered. "I’m not asking for forgiveness." His voice was steady, yet fragile. "All I’m asking for is the chance to prove that I’ve changed since then."

There was something disarmingly real in his tone, and for the first time, I saw a crack in his mask.

"You’re still unbearable," I muttered, despite the way my heart softened a little.

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Better than outright hatred."

The tension between us seemed to ease a little when I rolled my eyes.

Lucas stood up straight and sat on the edge of the bed. "You shouldn’t carry this load alone. Let me help."

"For now," I murmured softly, carefully.

He answered calmly, "For as long as you'll let me."

An unspoken understanding settled between us, filling the stillness with a weight that was both heavy and comfortable. After everything I had been through, trust didn’t come easily, but for the first time, I felt a crack in the armor I had carefully built around myself.

As Lucas stayed sitting beside me, I moved beneath the blanket and lay back down, though I didn’t fully close my eyes. His presence beside me was a quiet reassurance that I wasn’t totally alone, and somehow that felt like enough.

I whispered, "Thank you," as sleep started to pull me under again.

"For what?"

With my eyes growing heavy, I mumbled, "For not walking away."

He spoke softly, almost a whisper, "I never will."

And for the first time in a long while, I believed him.