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ASTRAI shook my head. Tears flowed down my eyes again. “No, it’s not. I don’t deserve you. Nic doesn’t deserve to die because of me.”He pulled back slightly, looking down at me. “Nic?” He asked. “You care about him, don’t you?”I nodded, my throat feeling tight. “I, I think love him, Matteo. I didn’t realize it until now, but I do. And I can’t… I can’t lose him.”I saw the hurt flash across Matteo’s face. There was a look of pain but he quickly hid it. He hid it and took a deep breath. “Then we won’t let it happen. We’ll find a way, Astra. I promise you, we’ll find a way.”I nodded. But my heart was racing. I didn’t know how and I didn’t know if we even could, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to let Nic just die like this.Matteo stayed by my side. He held me close and for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt different. I knew it wasn’t fair to him. Matteo loved me, I could see it in his eyes. I could hear it in the way he looked at me.It was wrong to use him this w

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ASTRAI swallowed hard. I thought of Nic and his determination to fight for what was right. I thought of the rebels and the hope in me when they first joined us. They had the way they’d believed in me, even when I hadn’t believed in myself.And I knew, deep down, that there was no other choice. I had to help them.“Yes,” I said. “I’m ready. I'll do whatever it takes, Matteo, whatever it takes to save them.”He studied me for a moment, then nodded. There was a small smile at the corner of his mouth. “All right, we’ll do this together. We’ll save Nic and the others. And if that means going against Ragnarok then so be it.”I reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” I whispered. “for standing by me and for believing in me.”He squeezed back. “Always,” he murmured. “I’ve got your back, Astra. I always have.”I took a deep breath. “Then let’s get started,” I said. “We have a lot to do and we don't have too much time.”Matteo nodded and we both rose to our feet. He helped me up. I kne

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