Valerian flinched when Aurelia finished his sentence.
Not because she was wrong—but because she had understood him completely.
The silence that followed was deep, heavy, and suffocating. It pressed against his chest until breathing felt like work. Aurelia sat back in her chair, composed, her hands folded neatly in her lap as though she had just concluded a matter of court business rather than unraveled the core of his confusion.
"So you see," she continued quietly, her tone gentle but resolute, "there is nothing left to untangle. You searched for a reason that would make your feelings… acceptable. Something external. You found it in the mark, and maybe fate. The will of the storms themselves."
Her gaze lifted to his.
"And when that reason was taken from you, all that remained was uncertainty."
Valerian clenched his jaw.
