(MASON'S POV)
The world had narrowed to a single point of focus: my brother's face, pale and peaceful in the moonlight, cradled in my arms. My tears fell onto his cheeks, mixing with the little, almost invisible scars on his face, the evidence of a lifetime of suffering I had never seen until tonight.
I don't know how long I held him. Minutes. Hours. Time had lost all meaning. The music from the garden speakers had faded into a distant hum, and the night air wrapped around us like a shroud.
Blue's hand never left my back, a steady anchor in the storm of my emotions. My mother's sobs had quieted to gentle whimpers. Helen stood frozen, her face wet with tears she didn't bother to wipe away.
And then Liam stirred.
It was subtle at first—a flutter of his eyelids, a twitch of his fingers. His breath caught, then released in a shaky exhale. His eyes slowly opened, unfocused and confused, searching the darkness for something familiar.
They found me.
