Chapter 252

Ava’s POV

The plan had been working, right up until it wasn't. Jonah was screaming. The wind howled around us, a monstrous, deafening force ripping at the mist, swirling like a living thing. It had him—his body twisting, contorting, his fingers clawing at the ground as he resisted, his mouth stretched open in a soundless shriek as the invisible force dragged him inch by inch toward the abyss. For the first time, he was fighting, and losing.

Then, I lost sight of Grayson. It happened so fast I barely registered it. One second he was there, tensed, his gaze fixed on Jonah, ready to push at the precise moment. The next—gone, swallowed by the chaos.

The wind shrieked louder, a piercing sound that split my skull. My hair whipped around my face, the air thick and electric, the mist curling in tendrils, distorting everything. My pulse pounded, my breath ragged.

“Grayson?!” My voice was barely audible.

I spun, my vision blurred. I couldn't see him. Panic seized me. This wasn't supposed to happen. We had planned this, calculated it. We were supposed to use Jonah's panic against him, let the wind take him, and ride the force back to the living realm. But the wind was shifting, changing its mind.

I sensed Grayson's struggle before I saw it—a ripple in the mist, a break in the swirling gray, and then him. His body was being dragged. The wind was taking him too. His feet skidded, his muscles tensed, fighting the pull, but it was stronger, winning. And suddenly, nothing else mattered. Jonah was screaming, the wind wailing, the world chaos. But all I could see was Grayson being ripped away.

Not again. I didn't think, didn't plan; I moved.

The moment I pushed forward, the force slammed into me like a wall of ice, biting, tearing, trying to keep me away, to keep me there. I fought it, pushing harder, every muscle screaming, the air pressure so thick it felt like moving through solid stone. My breath came in sharp gasps, my pulse hammered against my ribs, but I kept going. He was close, struggling, losing.

“Grayson!” My voice was raw, desperate.

His head snapped toward me, his gray eyes locking onto mine—and in that moment, I saw his acceptance. His lips moved: "Go." But I didn't stop fighting; there was no way I was losing him again. A scream ripped from my throat as I lunged. The second my fingers brushed his skin, everything changed.

A shockwave of light exploded from our touch, radiating outward instantly. It wasn't fire, it wasn't electricity; it was something else, something ancient. It poured into the mist, into the wind, swallowing everything in a blinding, golden glow. The wind stopped. The mist froze. Jonah's screams cut off. And then—silence. A deep, suffocating silence, as if the world had taken a single, stunned breath.

I still clutched Grayson's wrist, my body shaking, my lungs burning, my vision a haze of swirling gold. My pulse was erratic, my skin tingling where the light still flickered between us. Grayson stared at me, wide-eyed, breathless, like he'd seen something impossible.

“Ava,” he whispered. I barely heard him; my hand was still glowing, a soft, pulsing gold, fading like a dying ember.

“What…” My breath hitched, my fingers trembling as I looked at the lingering glow, “What did I just do?”

Grayson's grip tightened, his breathing ragged, “You…you stopped the wind.”

I blinked. “That’s not possible.”

“And yet…” He exhaled shakily, his thumb brushing the still-flickering glow on my palm. “You just did.”

I turned, scanning the mist. The wind, moments ago howling, was eerily still. It was as if the entire realm had paused. Jonah was gone. The monstrous force that threatened to tear us apart was silent. The mist, once writhing, had settled, curling lazily around my ankles as if the storm had never existed.

Grayson moved first, inhaling sharply before rising. His grip on my wrist tightened slightly, grounding me as my mind struggled to catch up. I was still kneeling, trying to process, when he gently pulled me to my feet. My legs were unsteady, but his grip steadied me. His gaze locked onto my palm before meeting mine.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice hoarse, turning my hand over, half-expecting the glow to return.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked around, his expression unreadable. I followed his gaze, my pulse quickening. The mist had thinned. The air no longer felt heavy. Everything looked and felt normal. But I knew better than to trust appearances.

Grayson's voice pulled me back. “Are you okay?”

I exhaled shakily and nodded, though I wasn't sure how true that was. “Why is my hand still tingling?” I flexed my finger. “And where are we?”

I barely finished the sentence before I heard it—my voice.

“Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?”

Grayson and I turned simultaneously. She stood a few feet away, batting her lashes, her lips curling into a playful smile. “Hi, Grayson.”

Grayson stiffened. “What the hell?”

I took a cautious step forward. “What happened to you?”

My other self tilted her head, studying me with an amused expression. “Honestly, I have no idea. But I guess it worked out just fine.” She glanced at my hand, eyes flickering with something unreadable. Then she looked at Grayson, her smile softening, turning flirty. “I never thought I’d get the chance to meet you like this,” she murmured.

I didn't need to look at Grayson to know he was as confused as I was, but the moment she gave him that look, something inside me twisted.

What. The. What? She was me, and she was flirting with Grayson, and it was infuriating.

My eyes narrowed, an unexpected burst of irritation rising. “Okay,” I cleared my throat, snapping her attention back to me. “What is happening now? Where are we? Are we back in reality yet?”

Her smile faded, replaced by something more serious. “Not yet. But we’re no longer in Between. All you have to do now is wake up.”

The second she said “wake up,” something clicked. The world shifted. The mist trembled. The wind returned—not the brutal force from before, but something else, something mine. It swirled around my ankles, lifting the edges of my clothes, crackling with energy, as if responding to my thoughts. The space between us began to stretch.

I felt myself moving backward, the wind carrying me away from her. Grayson grabbed my arm instinctively, anchoring me to him, but I could feel it—the pull, the unraveling of this place.

My other self smiled. “It was one hell of a ride, wasn’t it?” she called over the rising wind.

A laugh bubbled up. “Will I see you again?”

She grinned, her swirling eyes shining. “Don’t be dumb.”

The wind carried her further away, her voice barely a whisper now. “I am you, Ava.”

And then, one final thing, barely audible: “One more thing! Vampires do exist!”

The laugh intensified as the wind surged, yanking me backward. I let it take me. I let go. Grayson's voice called my name, his grip tightening for a split second before the world fractured around us. I felt the shift, felt myself being pulled through something vast and endless, and even as the darkness closed in, I was laughing. Because I knew I would see him on the other side.

Everything snapped to black. And the next second, I gasped awake.