The glow under Leira's skin prickled again, sharp and immediate, spreading from her chest to her fingertips, like electricity dancing along fragile threads. The air thickened, carrying a scent of ozone and cold stone, tangling with the faint metallic bite of the temple's interior. Shadows lengthened unnaturally, curling around columns and creeping along the floor as if watching. Every sound sharpened, her own breath, Cassian's heartbeat, the soft scrape of boots on stone. Even the dust in the light shafts seemed alive, moving toward her in whispers. The Veil tightened, pulsating against her ribs, a tangible tension that demanded attention, that promised imminent movement.
Cassian's breath caught, a faint hitch that Leira noticed before he spoke. "I… I need to leave," he said, voice low and tight.
"Leave? Why?" she demanded, her own pulse spiking. The Veil's energy glowing brighter and brighter, like it was trying to engulf him, brushing against his presence like a warning she could not ignore.
Cassian's jaw tightened. "Now. Just… I need to go right now."
"What is happening? Tell me!" she pressed, stepping closer, her voice firm but laced with the same tension she felt inside.
He hesitated, his eyes flicking to the walls, the columns, the shadowed corners of the temple as if something inside had ears. Then he sighed, the sound heavy, admitting the weight he carried. "Fine. You deserve to know."
Slowly, deliberately, he spoke, and as he did, the light in her eyes began to dim slightly. Leira's chest tightened in anticipation, the Veil's pulse pressing against her ribs. "On the way back… from the Ritual Grounds, I've been hearing them again. The voices. The same ones. The same ones I thought were gone."
Her hand clenched unconsciously, nails pressing into her palm. Surprise, confusion, fear, and a spark of anger all churned within her. "You mean you were hearing them again while we were alone together and you didn't think that you should tell me?"
"I wanted to," he admitted, each word careful, laden with guilt. "I thought I could handle it. I thought I could keep it under control… and protect you at the same time."
She shook her head, a mixture of disbelief and exasperation passing over her features. "So you put me at risk. You let me walk with you, let me feel bad for you, knowing you were a threat and didn't tell me?" Her voice rose, though not harshly, just sharp with frustration and concern.
Cassian's gaze dropped, tight and ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said, the apology heavy and raw. "I should've told you. I didn't… I thought I could fix it alone, but I really don't think I can."
"You can't keep doing this," she said quietly but with absolute conviction. "I can't. Not the secrets, not the lying, not the pretending. I can't be dragged into this sick web again, Cassian. I can't… I won't."
He looked up at her, eyes meeting hers with a vulnerability she had rarely seen. "I don't want to do this anymore," he admitted. "I want the shadows, the Keepers, all of it… gone. But I can't do it alone."
Leira felt a subtle tremor in the air, as if the temple itself was responding to this moment, the Veil pressing against her skin with an insistent, almost anxious pulse, and every tiny shift in Cassian's posture, each tightening of his jaw, the careful way he held his hands, echoed through her chest, threading a mix of fear, concern, and fragile hope that made it impossible to look away or to simply remain still.
She studied him, letting the weight of his words sink in. The Veil flickered, acknowledging his struggle and the danger threaded through him. "If you can't do it alone… why do you keep trying? Why keep blocking people that can help out and endangering lives? Why keep failing silently?"
Cassian remained silent. There was no excuse, no answer. She had spoken the truth, and he knew it.
Finally, after a long pause, she exhaled slowly. "Fine. We're going to do this. We're going to fix it. Fix you. And we're going to find a way to end all of this. For everyone. For all of us."
He blinked, barely perceptible, but there was relief, faint and tentative. The Veil pulsed, as though acknowledging her commitment, leaning forward with readiness.
Leira turned around and saw Kael, who had remained silent at the threshold, eyes narrowed in watchful concern, he had heard everything. The lines in his jaw were tight, his hands curled at his sides, and his presence carried the weight of both frustration and protective instinct.
"Kael," she said slowly, trying to steady her voice. "Cassian is still… struggling. He admitted it. And I think we're going to handle this together. All of us. Keepers, shadows, all of them."
Kael's gaze hardened immediately, a flash of anger crossing his face. "He was going to try and kill you," he said bluntly, tension vibrating through the room. "And you're telling me this now? After everything you've been through?"
"We have to be strategic," Leira replied firmly, raising a hand to calm him. "Yes, he is a threat…but the Keepers are all of ours to defeat. They've controlled, manipulated, and hurt us. All of us. Including him. We need to focus on the real enemy."
Kael's eyes lingered on Cassian, a mixture of anger, distrust, and something else, jealousy, yes, but restrained, tempered by his understanding of his role. His jaw tightened. He looked at Leira and then back at Cassian.
"Fine," Kael said finally, voice low but precise. "If we are saving the monster, we should probably get to work."
He stepped back, still tense, still wary. And then he walked off, leaving the room, giving them space, but the lingering glances, the tightness in his shoulders, betrayed the fact that his vigilance was far from gone.
Leira exhaled, letting the tension leave her shoulders. She turned to Cassian, noting the way his eyes lingered on her, flickering with a mixture of apology, guilt, and something unspoken.
"Don't keep anything from us again. If we're doing this, we all have to be completely in it. No more secrets." she said, not angrily this time, firmly.
"I know. I just thought I could protect you by keeping it in," he admitted, voice low. "I wanted to try and keep you safe, and I didn't want you to… to see me like that."
Leira's eyes scanning his carefully, aware of every micro expression. "Cassian," she said softly, "you do realize keeping it in isn't protecting anyone. It's isolating you… and putting everyone at risk. You need to know that."
He nodded slowly, lips pressing together. "I know."
A small, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "And yet, here you are… choosing to help me anyway."
Leira rolled her eyes, though a twinkle of a faint blush brushed past her cheeks. "I'm helping me," she muttered, but the words lacked their usual sharpness. There was no sarcasm, just acknowledgment.
The Veil pulsed again, faintly, as though sensing the tentative truce between them. Leira felt the subtle shift in its energy, a quiet, almost coaxing rhythm.
Cassian stepped closer, but not too close, just enough to make the air between them electric. His gaze flickered from her face to her hands, noting her restrained gestures, the way she kept herself centered and aware.
"Thank you," he said, voice soft, teasing but not cruel.
"Don't thank me yet," she replied. "We have a lot of work to do." She said as she tried to subtly break away from his gaze, from this very moment. She wasn't, or at least refused to be, in the same headspace as Cassian.
He smiled faintly, a mixture of mischief and sincerity, one eyebrow rising.
Leira exhaled sharply. "We should rest, you can go to the room we chained you in now." She said as she let out a little sarcastic smile.
He tilted his head, expression unreadable for a moment, before giving a soft, short laugh. "Fair enough."
The temple remained silent around them, except for the faint hum of the Veil. Light from the high windows fell across the floor in thin, precise lines, highlighting the dust and stone, the carvings and worn sigils, as though the walls themselves were watching.
Kael, still lingering at the doorway, observed the interaction silently. His jaw tightened, eyes flicking between them. There was frustration there, yes, and perhaps something warmer beneath it. Protective instincts and jealousy intertwined subtly, restrained by his knowledge of his role.
He couldn't bear this, the thought that she was warming up to her killer, to the man that caused them to be apart for this long. This was his worst fear coming true. He always wondered how Cassian was able to deceive Leira so easily, so many times, but he had found a way to convince himself that it was the Keepers' powers, some kind of mind control, she didn't have a choice. But deep, deep down, he had suppressed this one haunting and heartbreaking thought: she really fell in love with him every single time before. And if that was true, what did that mean for them?