Chapter 105

ACHILLES. This is not my first rodeo with death. This is not the first time I have come so close to it that it almost got me. So when I felt myself slipping away in the arms of Sahari as she desperately tried to get me out and ask for help, I knew that I was getting close again. Perhaps closer than I ever have before. But I can tell that this time is different, because I would never let death get me. I have something to live for this time. It might be cowardly to not die for a cause, for the simple reason of heroism, but I don’t care. I have a mate, and she’s carrying our child. Not even death can keep me away from that. I would crawl out of my grave if I have to. I’m starting to lose sensation in my skin now. It’s almost like life is leaving me. I try to keep it all in. I try to keep myself running. I think about Claudia, my dream of marrying her, my desire to have her by my side for the rest of my days. Our child, in our arms, by our side, laughing and playing and growing up with