The canyon had long since gone quiet, the fire reduced to little more than embers. Clara slept fitfully, her body curled toward the stone wall, her face pale even in the faint glow. Zeke snored a little ways off, sprawled across his bedroll with a carelessness that felt almost deliberate, as though to mask how awake he truly was.
But Damien was not sleeping. He sat with his back against a boulder, his eyes fixed on Clara's hand, where faint spirals pulsed with a rhythm too steady, too alive. It wasn't natural. It wasn't hers.
Evelyn's shadow shifted beside him. She had moved closer, crouching, her blade drawn loosely across her knees. Her voice was a whisper, harsh and low.
"You saw it too, didn't you?"
Damien's jaw flexed. "I did."
"She's slipping," Evelyn said, tone sharp as broken glass. "That wasn't just nerves earlier. She was hearing him. Talking to him."
Damien didn't deny it. He couldn't. The way Clara had flinched, the way she'd spoken to the empty air—it had been unmistakable.
Evelyn leaned in closer, her eyes burning. "We wait too long, Damien, and she won't be Clara anymore. You know it. I know it. The question is whether you've got the guts to do what needs to be done before it's too late."
The words twisted something in him. Damien's hands curled into fists, leather creaking. "And what, Evelyn? You want me to kill her while she sleeps? To put a blade through someone who's fought beside us, bled beside us?"
"If it saves the rest of us, yes." Evelyn's answer was immediate, merciless. "Don't pretend you haven't thought it. You already said it yourself—'I'll do what I have to.' Well, this is it. You either draw the line now or you'll watch her tear us apart later when he's pulling the strings."
Damien turned, eyes narrowing. "You don't know her like I do. Clara is not—" He cut himself short, jaw tightening.
"Not what?" Evelyn pressed, her voice like venom. "Not strong enough to fall? Not fragile enough to be claimed? Wake up, Damien. That tether was made for her. It's eating her alive. And if you're too blinded by your precious loyalty to see that, then I'll make the decision for both of us."
Her hand brushed the hilt of her blade. The faint scrape of metal sounded far too loud in the cavern.
Damien's arm shot out, seizing her wrist with a grip like iron. His voice was low, dangerous. "You touch her, and I'll stop you myself."
The firelight caught Evelyn's expression—hard, unyielding, but beneath it, a flicker of fear. She didn't pull away, though. She leaned closer instead, their eyes locked in the dim glow.
"Then you'd rather risk all of us for one girl?" she hissed.
Damien's grip tightened, his face inches from hers. "I'd rather risk myself than turn into Yurin before he even lifts a finger. You kill her now, Evelyn, and you've already done his work for him. Don't you get it? That's what he wants. For us to tear each other apart before he even arrives."
The words hung heavy between them. For the first time, Evelyn's eyes faltered—not with doubt, but with the weight of what Damien had said.
The canyon groaned faintly, wind scraping across the hollow. Clara stirred in her sleep, mumbling something soft, pained. Both of them turned their heads instinctively.
"Damien…" Evelyn whispered finally, her tone brittle now. "What if there's no choice? What if she really becomes him?"
Damien released her wrist slowly, but his gaze never left Clara. His voice was steady, but the steel beneath it was clear.
"Then I'll be the one to do it. Not you."
Evelyn studied him for a long moment, then slid her blade back into its sheath with a whisper of steel. She leaned back against the rock, silent, her eyes still fixed on Clara like a hawk circling its prey.
Damien didn't move. He watched the faint glow pulsing under Clara's skin, the spiral mark that seemed to beat like a second heart. He hated it. Hated how powerless he felt, how much of her was already beyond their reach.
But more than anything, he hated the thought that when the time came—when choice was no longer possible—it would be his hand that ended her life.
And somewhere in the darkness, far from their fire, Yurin Crimson stirred, smiling faintly as though he had heard every word.