They knew each other.
No—had known each other.
Not in passing. Not in training. Not in theory.
In memory.
It was the only way Jesse could speak like that. It was the only reason that strange stillness had formed between them during the duel—the kind Valeria had felt just by watching.
She thought she had known Lucavion. Understood him. Traced the edges of his silence well enough to read what he didn't say. But now...
Now she wasn't sure what part of him Jesse had touched.
And that unsettled her more than anything.
Valeria's gaze lowered, just slightly—only to Jesse's hands. One of them still hovered just behind her back, still tense. Not defensive. Just prepared.
They knew each other.
No—had known each other.
Not through court. Not through training sessions or crossed blades under sanctioned light.
It was deeper. Older. Folded in something lived, something left unsaid.
Memory.
Valeria didn't have proof. But she didn't need it.
The way Jesse looked at him…
