Sylas staggered back a step, and he felt as the world seemed to tilt beneath his feet.
He had died.
He had died knowing Theo was still alive in Cain's hands. And in the darkness, when death had swallowed him, he had fought.
God, how he had fought.
He had clawed his way through pain and oblivion with one thought burning in his mind.
Theo.
He had wanted to see her again. He had wanted to hold her. He had wanted to tell her that she had done enough, that she had nothing left to prove, that she was already everything he could ever want.
He had wanted to come back and give her the life she deserved.
And she had been alone.
She had been alone, and she had wanted to die.
A sound escaped him. It was small and powerless and broken.
Theo heard it and looked up, and she found him staring at her with an expression she had never seen on his face before.
It was grief.
