For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then Ashley's composure shattered.
She lunged forward with a force that almost pitched them both off the tower. Xavier grunted as she collided with him, landing in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck so tightly he could barely breathe. The crossbow clattered forgotten against the wooden planks.
Silent tears streamed down her cheeks, hot against the frozen air. Her whole body shook with tremors that had nothing to do with the wind. Xavier felt them run through her—violent waves of relief, like a dam finally giving way after holding back an ocean.
"I thought I was losing my mind," she whispered against his shoulder, the words muffled and broken. "That I was just another ghost in someone else's life."
Xavier's arms came up around her automatically, one hand settling between her shoulder blades, the other cradling the back of her head.
"You're not insane," he said quietly. "You're exactly who you've always been."
