Page 478 of Ruthless Court

“Then you became my Endnote.”

His eyes hold mine.

“The thing waiting at the end of every page.”

That breaks me.

My free hand covers my mouth.

He smiles.

“But that's wrong too.”

“What?”

“I don't want you waiting at the end.”

His thumb strokes my hand.

“I want you through the whole damn thing.”

My heart pounds.

Kane glances toward the sky.

I follow.

For one second, nothing happens.

Then tiny lights rise beyond the beach.

Drones.

Dozens.

Maybe hundreds.

They climb into the dark and spread above the ocean.

People around us start noticing.

Voices rise.

The lights gather.

Shift.

A heart appears.

My breath catches.

Then the heart dissolves.

Letters form slowly across the sky.

HANNAH GOODWIN

I start crying harder.