Outside the void, Jade was fighting for him.
She was kneeling beside his unconscious body, shaking him. "Come back to me, damn it!"
Lauren stood nearby, gun drawn. "Jade… what if he doesn't?"
Jade ignored her.
Shade's veins were black. His pulse was erratic.
She refused to let this be the end.
Jade grabbed his face, her voice shaking. "I know you're in there."
Silence.
Jade exhaled. Then, desperate, she did the only thing she could.
She kissed him.
Hard.
Pouring everything into it—anger, love, pain, fear.
Hoping. Praying.
That it would be enough.