Maybe it was something someone gave you—knowing how much it would cost.
Cassius brushed his thumb over her lips. "Tomorrow, they'll test me again."
"I know."
"I want you to be the one watching."
Athena arched a brow. "Afraid I'll be unimpressed?"
"Terrified," he said, smiling faintly.
She smirked. "Then make me regret not breaking your ribs."
Their laughter broke the tension like glass shattering on stone.
And though the world was still fractured, though war still brewed in the shadows and older things stirred beneath the realm—
For this one stolen night…
They remembered what it meant to feel whole.
Athena stood at the edge of the training field, Cassius's warmth still clinging to her skin like armor she didn't ask for but desperately needed.
He'd left a few minutes ago, heading toward the barracks to clean up, but the memory of his kiss—the hunger, the ache, the familiarity—it lingered like smoke.
And for once, she didn't want it to fade.
