Chapter 307

Chapter 307:

A cold, sinister voice whispers through my mind, slithering through the cracks of my sanity. You killed him.

My chest tightens, a steel band constricting around my ribs. The voice is mine. That twisted, broken part of me that never forgets, never forgives.

You let the demon out. And now he’s dead.

I want to scream, to deny it. But the truth is carved into my bones. The truth is bleeding out in front of me. I see my own hands covered in his blood, my reflection staring back from his lifeless eyes.

Aiden. My brother. My other half.

Gone because of me.

The darkness surges, swallowing the edges of my vision. The forest fades, the ground crumbles away, and all I’m left with is the void. An endless blackness, stretching forever.

The demon in me stirs, that cold, vicious part of myself I try to bury. It’s awake now, feeding on my grief, my guilt. I can feel it clawing its way up, ready to take control, to devour whatever’s left of me. I don’t fight it.

Because maybe I deserve it. Maybe I deserve to be consumed, to lose myself to the darkness I unleashed. Maybe that’s the only way to atone for what I did.

A raw, guttural scream tears from my throat, shaking the emptiness around me. A sound of pure agony, of grief that can’t be contained. My voice echoes back, twisted and distorted, until I can’t tell where the scream ends and the darkness begins.

I jolt awake, my body drenched in sweat, my chest heaving. My heart slams in my chest, the dim shadows stretching across the walls, a cruel reminder of the nightmare that still lingers behind my eyes.

My hands shake as I push my hair back, trying to ground myself. But the image of Aiden’s dead body is burned into my vision. The weight of guilt, of loss, crushes me, making it hard to breathe.

It was a dream. Just a fucking dream, and yet it felt so fucking real.

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But it doesn’t feel like one. It feels like a memory etched into my soul, a scar that never heals.

“Ryder p>

Her voice is soft, hesitant, pulling me from the storm raging in my head. I blink, and she’s there—Jasmine, sitting up beside me, her eyes heavy with worry and love. The sheets pool around her, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in wild waves. She looks like an angel in the dim light, and for a moment, the chaos inside me quiets.

But the silence doesn’t last. The shadows creep back in, whispering their accusations, their truths.

I killed him.

I squeeze my eyes shut, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. The tremors in my hands spread to my whole body, a wave of grief and self-loathing crashing into me.

“Ryder,” Jasmine whispers again, her fingers brushing my cheek, her touch gentle but firm. “Look at me p>

I can’t. If I do, she’ll see it. The darkness. The monster. The part of me I can’t control.

Her hand slips under my chin, guiding my face toward hers. I resist, but only for a moment. Her touch is my anchor, and I’m drowning too fast to refuse it. When my eyes meet hers, they’re shining with unshed tears, her gaze fierce and unwavering.

“You’re not alone,” she says softly. “Whatever it is, whatever you’re facing—you don’t have to face it by yourself p>