The fire hissed low in the canyon hollow, shadows trembling along the walls like restless spirits. Clara Crimson sat with her knees pulled close, her palms pressed together so tightly she thought the spiral mark on her hand might burn straight through her skin. Damien's words still hung in the air, unspoken yet heavy as stone.
If Yurin takes over, I'll do what I have to.
She replayed it again and again, the edge in his tone, the way Evelyn's eyes had flicked sharply toward him, suspicion coiling tighter. No one had spoken since.
Finally, Evelyn broke the silence, her voice sharp as flint. "So what exactly did you mean by that, Damien?"
Damien looked up from where he sat, methodically wrapping his gauntlets. His face was unreadable, his tone deliberate. "I meant what I said. If Yurin becomes more than we can stop, if the tether turns Clara into a weapon against us… I'll do what I must."
Clara's breath caught. "Against me?"
Damien's eyes softened, but only barely. "If it comes to that."
The words landed like a blade between them. Clara's stomach twisted, half with fear, half with fury. "You don't get to decide that, Damien. You don't get to make me collateral damage just because you're afraid of him."
"He's not wrong," Evelyn interjected, voice low, though it carried like poison in the still air. "Yurin's already touching your mind, Clara. We've all seen it. Your reactions. Your visions. He's not just whispering anymore—he's inside."
Clara stood abruptly, the spiral on her palm blazing faintly in the firelight. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't feel it every time I close my eyes? He's there, Evelyn. Always there. But that doesn't mean I'm just waiting to collapse into his arms!"
Evelyn's gaze didn't waver. "It means you're one bad moment away from not being you anymore."
The fire popped, the sound sharp as a crack of thunder. Silence followed, heavier than before.
Zeke, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, leaned forward, his usual smirk absent. "You're all talking like Yurin's some ghost haunting her. He's not. He's flesh and blood. If he wanted to, he'd have crushed us by now. Which means…" He hesitated, then muttered, "Which means he's letting this play out."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "You're suggesting—"
"I'm saying maybe the tether isn't an accident," Zeke said, his tone edged with a bitter humor that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe Clara's not the victim. Maybe she's the plan."
Clara felt her blood run cold. "Don't you dare—"
But Damien was already staring at her differently, his jaw tight, his thoughts a storm she couldn't read.
The spiral pulsed again, faint heat radiating into her chest. And in the quiet corners of her mind, a whisper like velvet stirred: They will not trust you. They never will. But I do.
She flinched, pressing her palm hard against her thigh, trying to drown it out.
"Stop it," she hissed under her breath.
Evelyn frowned. "Stop what?"
Clara realized she had spoken aloud. Panic clawed at her throat. "Nothing. Just… nothing."
But Evelyn's eyes had narrowed, sharp as a blade, and Clara could see it—the fear growing in her teammates' faces, the subtle shift as trust fractured, the circle cracking wider with each heartbeat.
Damien finally rose, his armor groaning softly. His voice was steady, but it carried the weight of judgment. "We can't afford lies. If Yurin speaks to you, Clara, if he pulls you closer—you tell us. All of it. Otherwise…" He didn't finish, but the silence screamed the rest.
Clara's chest ached. She wanted to argue, to scream, to remind them she wasn't just a vessel waiting to be claimed. But deep inside, where the tether hummed like a second heartbeat, she wondered if maybe they were right.
And in the back of her mind, Yurin's voice coiled once more—patient, knowing. They will break before you do. And when they do, you will see who truly stands at your side.
She clenched her fists, fighting tears, as the fire sputtered lower.
Trust was dying in the canyon, and Clara didn't know if anything could bring it back.