The next morning, while they were packing up camp, Bella could no longer stay silent.
She approached Caden as he rolled up his tent.
"Hey… we haven't really spent any time together these past few days," she said in a tone she tried to keep light, though it sounded forced. "Before, we used to walk side by side a lot. Now it feels like you spend all your time with Aletha."
Caden straightened, surprised.
"Bella… we're traveling. We're all training. I'm just helping her because she's still a bit weak after her fall. That's all."
Bella lowered her gaze, playing with a strand of her hair.
"Yeah, of course… It's just that sometimes it feels like you're avoiding me. We don't really laugh together anymore like we used to."
Zetch, passing by, spoke calmly:
"Bella, we're all tired. This isn't the time for that."
Frost stepped closer, placing a calming hand on Bella's shoulder.
"Caden is right. There's nothing more to it. Breathe."
Bella nodded, but her eyes remained sad as she saw Aletha smile at Caden while handing him a water flask.
Two days later, the tension had become palpable. During a lunch break, Bella broke again—this time more directly.
"Caden," she began, sitting beside him, "it feels like you spend more time with Aletha than with me. We hardly do anything together anymore. Do you remember when we used to talk for hours in the evenings? Now you're always… busy somewhere else."
Caden sighed, looking genuinely sorry.
"Bella, I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm not avoiding you. Aletha needs help getting back in shape after what happened at the cliff. I'm just helping her, that's all. There's nothing else. You're important to me, okay?"
Lyseria, who had been watching, tried to lighten the mood:
"We're all a bit on edge with this journey. It'll pass."
But even she exchanged a discreet glance with Frost—a glance that hinted at the beginning of doubt.
A little further away, Aletha clenched her jaw in silence. She did everything she could to ignore the pain in her chest. She loved Bella like a sister… but every time Caden touched her during training, every time he smiled at her, it became harder and harder to stay quiet.
Caden, meanwhile, kept stealing glances at Aletha when he thought no one was looking. He didn't understand why his heart beat faster with her than it did with Bella.
Frost murmured to himself, almost inaudibly:
"This is going to explode…"