**TRINITY’S POV**
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The mine was freezing, damp, and heavy with the sound of chains clinking as the other girls cried. Every second dragged like hours. I felt like I was slipping, like hope was draining out of me. Not without Asher, I thought. I couldn’t do this without him.
“What do you mean — not without me?” His voice was small, like it could snap if it leaned too hard on the air. I looked up. Asher was kneeling, and everything else blurred away until there was only the slope of his shoulders and the tired light in his eyes.
“Asher.” My voice came out thin, like a thread.
He reached toward me but stopped just short, as if touching would make the moment shatter. “I’ve never known you to give up so easily.” He said. It didn’t sound like blame. It sounded like a confession.
