** Ryder’s POV **

The more I think about it, the more I believe it. Everything we’ve been through, the chaos, the losses, the way fate pushed us together, then apart, and then back together again, isn’t random at all. I think it’s all playing out exactly the way it was meant to, even if some of it feels cruel.

Paige’s eyes linger on mine, full of questions and quiet strength, and I can feel it again, the pull that started years ago and never really let me go, it’s not anything ...