For what, she did not know. For him to return. For the pain to stop. For her mind to make sense of what her body had endured. She tried to lift herself again, pushing up on her elbows, and that was when she saw it.
The cave was empty.
Her heart stopped.
She turned her head. Left. Right. The shadows were still. The rain was steady. There was no black coat. No violet eyes. No calm, impossible presence. Just the stone. Just the mist. Just the drip of water and the sound of her own ragged breathing.
"He left," she whispered.
The words came out cracked. Broken. Her voice was not hers anymore—it was the voice of a woman who had screamed until her throat bled. She stared at the empty space where he had been. Where he had held her. Where he had said 'I am with you'.
Her tears came.
