The forest seemed to thicken and thin in strange patches as they walked, like it couldn't decide whether to swallow them whole or let them through. The deeper they moved, the heavier the air became, dense enough that Leira could almost feel the weight of it pressing against her ribs. Damp leaves clung to her boots, the smell of wet moss rising every time she took a step.
They didn't speak.
Leira stepped over a fallen branch, wide and splintered like something powerful had snapped it effortlessly. As she planted her foot on the other side, she heard it.
A breath.
A shift.
A slight interruption in the footsteps behind her.
Cassian.
It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't even clumsy. It was a subtle misstep, just a fraction of weight distributed wrong. Something only someone paying far too much attention to him would notice.
Her head snapped around before she could stop herself.
Cassian's boot slid half an inch in the loose soil. His hand hovered near a tree trunk, fingers curling slightly as if considering bracing himself but refusing to finish the motion. His breath hitched, a sound so small most people would miss it, but not her.
Leira reached for him.
Her hand closed around his arm without hesitation, instincts overriding logic. His skin was warm beneath the thin fabric, tense, like a coiled wire struggling not to snap.
Cassian froze instantly.
Not like someone offended.
Not like someone startled by her boldness.
But like the moment her fingers touched him, a door inside him swung open too fast.
His eyes flicked to her hand, then to her face, something raw flickering in his gaze before he shut it down.
"Don't…" he murmured, voice barely above breath. "It's fine."
Not harsh.
Not rejecting.
Just quietly startled.
Leira snatched her hand back. "Whatever. Just… walk properly."
Cassian's gaze fell to the ground, his jaw tightening with unspoken embarrassment.
They continued forward.
The forest around them felt older now. The trees grew taller, but their bark was rough, scarred like something had clawed its way through them years ago. The deeper they went, the darker the canopy grew, sunlight dimming into a muted green glow.
Cassian's breathing got heavier. She could hear it, faint but irregular. Every few minutes, his hand drifted up toward his temple, rubbing lightly as if trying to massage away something deep under his skin.
He was unraveling. Slowly. Quietly.
Leira pretended not to notice.
When they reached a cracked stone pillar jutting from the earth, half swallowed by vines, she stopped abruptly.
"We need to rest."
Cassian didn't argue, but instead of sitting, he moved in a slow, restless line beside the pillar. His pacing was deliberate, like he was trying to walk off the memory gripping his spine. His boots scraped softly over the dirt, the repetitive sound almost soothing and yet jittery.
Leira leaned her back against the cool stone. The pillar's surface was rough, tiny grains of ancient dust clinging to her palms. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he dragged a hand through his hair, fingers trembling slightly.
"You should sit," she said flatly. "Before you fall again."
"I'm fine." He sank down onto a low slab of stone but kept his eyes lowered. His voice was low, strained. "And… you didn't… have to do that."
Leira crossed her arms. "Do what?"
"Pull me out," he muttered, shoulders tight. "I didn't ask you to."
"Wow." She let out a dry laugh. "You are unbelievable."
Cassian flinched, guilt flickering across his face before he could hide it. "That's not… what I meant." He exhaled shakily. "I just don't want you wasting any more energy on me."
"Oh I know exactly what you meant, and trust me," she scoffed. "Saving you wasn't on my agenda today."
His lips twitched in something that wasn't quite amusement, more like resignation. "Right."
Leira pushed off the pillar. "And stop doing that."
Cassian frowned. "Doing what?"
"That thing where you act like you're shrinking into yourself," she snapped. "Like you're some heavy burden I accidentally picked up." Her voice roughened, anger and something unspoken cutting through each word. "This whole guilty routine you do, it's irritating. "You're the one who became a monster," she snapped. "You're the one who became something even you couldn't recognize. And now what? You feel guilty? Now you want to shrink and act like the world should pat your back for feeling bad? Am I supposed to just forgive you now? Pretend it didn't happen?"
Cassian's breath stilled. "No… no, that's not…"
"Because that's not going to happen," she cut in sharply. "What is this, Cassian? Are you trying to make me feel bad for you?"
"No." His answer was immediate, quiet, strained.
"Then what is it?" she demanded, the anger finally cracking into something raw. "What is this act?"
His head lifted sharply. "It's not an act!"
The words ripped out of him before he could stop them, loud, rough, too honest.
Then, almost instantly, his voice broke into something quieter. "It's not an act," he repeated, softer. His shoulders lowered, the fight draining out of him. "I hate what I did to you." His voice trembled, not with weakness but with truth. "I hate what I became. I can't look at myself in the mirror without seeing your face. Seeing the things I did."
Leira's breath faltered, just slightly. Her anger didn't vanish, but it shifted, tightened, softened at the edges. She hated that it did.
Cassian's gaze dropped to his hands, his fingers curling in on themselves. "I'm trying to do the right thing here," he murmured. "I just… don't want to make things worse."
"Well, it's too late for that," she said, voice cool again but not as sharp as before. "Look at where we are. Things are already worse." She gestured faintly around them, at the shadows of the ritual ground looming in the distance. "We're living inside 'worse.' That ship sailed a long time ago."
Cassian swallowed, the guilt tightening his jaw before he finally nodded. "I know."
Silence settled again; thick, uncomfortable, pressing heat against her ears.
Leira's gaze drifted, unwillingly, to the slight tremor in his fingers. It was barely visible, the kind of shaking someone hides with pride. But she saw it every time his hand rested on his knee.
Without thinking, she stepped toward him.
"Hold still," she muttered.
His head jerked up. "Leira…"
"Be quiet." She grabbed his wrist. "You're shaking."
"I'm not…"
The truth buzzed against her palm immediately, a subtle but constant vibration. Cassian inhaled sharply, freezing as if her touch triggered something deep inside him.
His eyes softened, no walls, no smirking armor. Just Cassian. The man beneath the monster.
Leira felt her heartbeat stutter, annoyingly, and pulled her hand back fast.
"Something's going on with you," she said, covering the slip with irritation. "If it hurts, let me know."
Cassian stared at her like she had just done the impossible, like she cared.
"You don't have to…"
"I know," she cut in, voice sharper than she intended. "Trust me, I know."
He breathed out slowly, his shoulders lowering by a fraction. The air around them warmed, shifting from hostile to something more complicated.
"Thank you," he murmured. "Even if you hate me. Thank you."
Leira scowled. "I don't hate you."
"Could've fooled me."
"Don't get excited," she snapped. "I said I don't hate you. I didn't say I liked you."
A tired, crooked smile tugged at his lips. "I can work with that. For me, that's… an upgrade."
She rolled her eyes and turned away, but she felt his gaze follow her like heat. Felt the fragile hope buried under all his guilt.
She didn't look at him.
But she felt him there.
She always did.
"I think we've rested enough," she said finally, voice flat. "We should move."
The forest abruptly spat them out into a clearing.
The change was violent. like stepping into a place that didn't belong to the world around it. The ground was dark, scorched, and cracked in places like something had burned through the earth itself.
The air smelled of old smoke and something else that was almost choking, sharp enough to sting her nose.
Leira slowed, heart thudding painfully in her chest.
The circle was unmistakable.
Blackened stones lay scattered, some split clean down the middle. Ash clung to the edges like the aftermath of a final battle. A faint red glimmer pulsed along runes carved deep into the ground, weak but still alive.
Cassian's steps faltered behind her.
A burnt scrap of fabric lay half buried in the dirt, the corner of Ari's handwriting visible through the char.
Leira's stomach twisted.
"This… this is where it happened," she whispered.
Cassian didn't respond.
Because the runes flickered again.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
A soft hum vibrated around them, like a heartbeat buried under the earth.The wind stopped. The forest fell silent. Even the air felt held in place.
Leira stepped back, pulse racing. "Cassian… what is that?"
The hum deepened.
The runes lit with a harsh red glow, bleeding across the scorched ground like veins.
Cassian's eyes widened, fear slicing through his composure.
"Don't touch anything," he whispered. "There is something here..."