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"Unpleasant." His sea-green eyes remain on mine.

"I know what my fear feels like."

A quiet weight enters the words. I look away first. Cassian does not press.

Nyra gestures toward the path leading out of the clearing. "Our bracelets all point that way."

Cassian checks his. 64. The arrow matches ours. "Then I suppose we're a group."

Rowan folds her arms. "Do you always accept mysterious magical instructions that easily?"

"No." Cassian looks toward the silent forest behind him.

"We should continue," I say.

Cassian watches me for half a heartbeat. "Agreed."

The path narrows beyond the clearing. We walk in a line at first. Rowan ahead. Nyra behind her. Cassian and I several steps back. Not intentionally. The forest decides the available space.

For a while, neither of us speaks. The silence between us is not empty. It is crowded with everything we are politely avoiding. Cassian eventually breaks it.

"How's Caelen?" He asks.

"Still convinced I require supervision." I exhale

"He's probably right."

I look toward him. "You always liked him more."

He smiles softly. "He never sent me a letter pretending he suddenly hated me."

The words are gentle. The pain inside them is not. I stop walking. Cassian does too. Nyra and Rowan continue ahead before realizing we have fallen behind. They wait at a respectful distance.

"I didn't hate you." I explain.

"I know." He says softly.

"I wanted to explain."

"I know that too." The absence of anger leaves me nowhere to defend myself. Cassian looks down at the bracelet around his wrist. "I was angry for a long time." He adds quietly.

"You had every right."

"Yes."

The honesty surprises me. Then he looks back at me. "But I was never angry because you chose your family." My throat tightens. "I was angry because someone made you believe there was a choice."

The forest blurs slightly. I blink it clear. "Cassian—" I start.

"We do not have to do this now." He offers the escape immediately. Not because the conversation does not matter. Because he sees I am not ready to carry it through a Trial. "I only needed you to know I understood." A pause. "Eventually."

I stare at him. The boy I loved is gone. Not erased. Grown. The man standing before me still carries his warmth, but it no longer belongs to the version of us my father ended.

"I'm sorry," I say.

Cassian's expression softens. "I know."

"No. You knew I didn't mean the letter. I'm sorry I let you receive it anyway."