✓ | 𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀, luke castellan

ᴢᴇʀᴏ

The End.

She had told him she would follow him to the end.

She had not known the end would look like this—kneeling in the wreckage, her hands stained with the color of his love, his body growing heavier in her lap, the warmth of him fading with every breath.

But that's the thing they never tell you about heroes. Their stories do not end in triumph. They end in mourning, their names whispered like half-forgotten prayers. Aurora Cooper had never wanted to be a hero. She had only ever wanted Luke.

And yet, here she was—alone at the edge of the world, the throne room collapsing around them. The dawn pressed against the fractured ceiling, its golden light filtering through dust and ash, painting the ruins in soft, cruel hues. The wreckage of a war they were never meant to win.

Luke’s breath was shallow, his skin ashen, his pulse fading beneath her fingertips. And yet, a ghost of a smile lingered on his lips, softer than she had seen in years. The storm in his eyes had settled at last, the burden of the world slipping from his shoulders. He was free.

The first light of daybreak crept over the horizon, gilding the destruction in pink and gold, as if the world had already moved on. A new day. A rebirth.

But not for them.

Rory bowed her head, pressing her forehead against his.

With his final breath, Luke Castellan murmured, “I’ll wait for you.”

A tear traced its way down her cheek, lost among the dust and blood. And then—silence.

It was over.

And then the sky burned.

A symbol ignited above her, searing against the morning air—a golden sun, too brilliant to look upon, banishing every shadow from the ruins. Her mother’s mark. Hemera’s claim.

She had waited her whole life to be seen. To shine. To rise.

But Icarus, too, had once touched the light.

Did he know, as he soared, that the fall was already written in the sky? Did he feel the inevitability of it?

Perhaps the tragedy was not that he fell.

Perhaps the tragedy was that, even knowing the cost, he still chose to fly.

For all their ruinous flaws, nothing was as beautiful as when they fell.

There is bitter triumph in crashing when you were born to soar.

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And so it begins! Welcome to Icarus Falls! I hope you enjoy the book. Don't be a silent reader, I love hearing your thoughts!

As any proper Greek tragedy should, this story makes its ending clear from the start. It’s a bleak tale, but if it helps, there is a glimmer of hope waiting at the end.

Happy reading! <33

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