The inferno kept pressing forward with merciless intent, and despite the layers of defensive Qi Lucas had woven together with painstaking precision, it was becoming painfully clear that those defenses were being stripped away faster than he could reinforce them. The heat was no longer something he could push back entirely, because it had become a presence that invaded every breath he took, every thought he tried to form. Henrietta could feel it too, the way his protection trembled around them like glass on the verge of shattering, yet strangely her heart was steady, because some part of her knew that Lucas had not brought them this far only to fail now.
She tightened her grip on his robe and whispered, not in fear but in trust, "You always find a way, Xavier. I know you will not let this end here."
