It was hours before either of us spoke again.
The fire burned low. Shadows clawed at the edges of the hut.
Outside, the forest had gone corpse-silent.
Kael sat with his back to the wall, one leg bent, hands buried in his hair.
I lay on the straw, eyes half-open, feeling everything and nothing all at once.
"You knew," I said.
Not a question.
He didn't answer.
"Kael."
Still nothing.
I sat up, slow, pain tugging at my ribs. "You knew what the Thorn Crown was."
His jaw tightened.
"That's why you came to the Ruins. Why you let me go alone. You wanted me to find it."
"I didn't" He sucked in a breath, bitter. "I didn't want this."
"But you knew."
He met my gaze.
And finally....he broke.
"I knew the Crown devoured magic," he said. Voice hoarse. "I knew it was made for Nulls. That only someone without power could wear it."
I went cold.
"You never told me."
"Because if I had, you wouldn't have picked it up."
"You used me."
"No," he said sharply. "I trusted you."
Silence fell between us, sharp as a knife.
"You wanted me to become this thing. This… bomb."
"I wanted you to survive," he snapped. "I wanted someone who could anchor me, Ariya. Someone who wouldn't go up in flames every time I lost control. I didn't know it would..." He choked on the words. "I didn't know it would change you."
I laughed, bitter. "Congrats. It did."
He stood and paced the room like a caged beast. "The Crown doesn't just devour magic. It feeds on emotion. On pain. You're not just wearing it—you are it now."
The room spun.
My ribs throbbed. My head screamed.
And still my voice was quiet.
"What does it want from me?"
Kael stopped pacing.
And whispered:
"Everything."