[ Gansey had spent a lot of the last six months thinking about death. Some of the time, he’d been trying not to think about death, and the rest of the time he’d been worrying about how it might happen. How it had actually happened – that he would go to it willingly, choosing it despite not wanting it – was not an option that occurred to him until the moment he did it. He knows that it had bothered Ronan more than anyone. He hadn’t accepted it even from a practical perspective. And Gansey couldn’t blame him, not after everyone else he’d lost. It hadn’t been fair.

Gansey hadn’t been fair, either. He’d tried to protect Ronan and instead he’d made him worry. Made him dream again, at a time when he should have been steering clear.

Gansey doesn’t argue. He nods, and lets out the breath he’d been holding. ]

I don’t intend to. Twice is quite enough. And we have too much living to do, all of us. I’m not going anywhere.

[ He says that firmly, his eyes lifted to Ronan’s. I won’t leave you. ]

We’re getting out of here together, okay?