Zarius's fingers slowly traced a crack in the wooden table. Across from him, Hyran sat rigid, his powerful frame coiled with tension.
In a fluid motion, Yulia placed her hands on the table's edge and sat atop it, tucking her slender legs beneath her. Her cold gaze shifted between them. Her voice was quiet, flowing into the silence.
"Been a while since the three of us sat together."
Zarius raised his head slightly, his lips pulling into a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Good to see this flexible."
Yulia tilted her head towards him, and a short strand of black hair fell across her pale forehead.
"What can I say."
She wrapped her thin arms around herself, rubbing her shoulders as a shiver traced a path down her spine.
"'Ugh..." she continued, "Was Arcadia this cold too?"
Zarius's finger froze on the table, and he answered in a hoarse voice.
"Quite the opposite... Arcadia's warm most of the year."
In one smooth motion, Yulia turned her body to face Zarius, moving so close her knees almost touched his chest. She leaned her slender body toward his face, but Zarius remained perfectly still, his expression a mask.
"Let me make this Straight for you both," she whispered, her cold breath ghosting across his skin. "There is nothing to hide from me."
Then, she placed her cold palm on his head. She patted it slowly, a gesture that was both gentle and patronizing.
"Ever since her dad found out what was going on with Moriana, he's been on my case to stay away from her. But I'm not backing off."
Her gaze drifted aside.
"It isn't about being a hero who sacrifices herself. I simply wasn't convinced by that conclusion."
Yulia shifted, preparing to slide off the table. She paused mid-motion, her eyes fixing on Moriana's stumbling form in a distant alley as Gord supported her.
"I can't... let Mori owe me something this huge."
Zarius slowly raised his head, the usual sarcasm in his eyes replaced by raw helplessness.
"Why, Yulia? What do you know about Exim that makes you unconvinced?"
Yulia slid off the table to stand on the floor and turned her back to him. Her thin shoulders looked sharp under her robe.
"Hmm…" She paused, eyes unfocused as she searched for the right words."All I really know is that it's the power Handlers use. It has something to do with manipulating timelines… but Exim itself? Even the Handlers don't fully understand it."
"Exactly. Your life's timeline is being drained by her Exim for some reason," Zarius said, his voice flat as he rested his head in his hand.
"Well, I hate unknown reasons," Yulia replied, moving a little further from Zarius.
Finally, Hyran took a step forward. His voice was a deep rumble from his massive chest, his expression lost in shadow.
""So… you know, Yulia.Then… you must've found a way to fix it, right?"
Yulia's slender shoulders slumped with a long, trembling sigh. She looked up at Hyran, a faint, tired smile touching her lips.
"Classic Hyran… straight to the result, as always."
Hyran watched her—the broken smile, the hair falling across her forehead. Yulia hugged his massive, fur-covered forearm to her and rested her face against it.
"This burden is too great for you both to bear alone," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Thank you, both of you."
Hyran snatched his arm away as if her touch had burned him. His voice boomed like thunder.
"Are you Shitting me?!"
He grabbed the wooden chair behind him, dragging it back with a painful scraping sound on the stones. He threw his massive body onto the chair and turned his back to them, a solid wall of fury.
From across the table, Zarius heard the slow, harsh grinding of his teeth. Yulia turned, her expression hardening into a mask of resolve. She moved toward Zarius, who remained hunched over in silent defeat.
"With that being said, I think half the problem is solved..." she said with icy calm. "...Only the other half remains."
Zarius's voice was a faint, broken whisper, his eyes fixed on his trembling hands.
"So… what now, Yulia? Got any plaـــــ?"
Yulia lunged forward, cutting him off. Her small hands shot out and grabbed his face, forcing his head up to meet her gaze. Her green eyes burned with a harsh light, mere breaths separating them.
What's wrong with you, Zarius?" she whispered, her voice like ice."That face makes me sick. You're acting like one of Valdar's cheap whores who hasn't been paid in ages. Since when do you rely on me to make your decisions?"
Yulia felt his body tremble beneath her hands.
"Could it be you're afraid I'll blame you?After you used that trip to Arcadia as an excuse to run away—to get away from Moriana, to stop the same thing from happening to you?"
The grinding of teeth stopped. Hyran's golden eyes widened, his massive frame frozen solid.
For a long, painful moment, Zarius remained rigid under Yulia's touch. Fear was absent from his gaze, replaced by a raw, aching sorrow.
Then, very slowly, he let out a breath that seemed to carry all the tension from his body. Slowly, he raised his hands and closed them over hers. His touch was gentle as he lifted her hands from his face, holding them in the space between them.
"So…" Zarius began, his voice low and steady, stripped of the tremor from before."…this is what you really see."
"You're right, Yulia," he said softly, lifting his gaze to meet hers."I was afraid… and I still am.
"But not just for myself," he continued, his grip on her hands tightening slightly."I was afraid for you, for Moriana… and for that angry beast sitting over there." He nodded toward Hyran without looking at him.
"I was afraid of what would happen to all of us when those suspicions… became reality."He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper only she and Hyran could hear."Call it what you want… but it wasn't running away. It was buying time—time for you to take your life back."
"I hoped time would give us a chance… a chance to find something—anything—so I wouldn't have to face you with this damn truth.The truth that our world had already chosen… and all I could do was stand there and watch you fade away."
He suddenly released her hands. Yulia stumbled back slightly.
"And now," Zarius said, his voice becoming chillingly practical,
"since we all share the same hell... what do you want us to do, Yulia?"
The hands Zarius had released hung in the air for a moment before she slowly dropped them to her sides. She studied his calm face but found only sincere exhaustion. Her voice was flat, empty.
"I didn't ask you for a favor, Zarius. Have you forgotten you both went to Arcadia for Moriana's sake?"
She glanced at Hyran, who was still a wall of silent rage, then her eyes returned to Zarius.
"Honestly, I'm still not convinced by this outcome. So... for me, nothing changes.
I will continue to live as if nothing has happened or said."
She turned her face toward the alley, her words trailing off into the empty air.
"To die at eighteen... how cruel." Her voice dropped low. "In this situation, I'm not the one qualified to decide what to do next."
She turned to him again, and for the first time, a small smile reached her eyes.
"Zarius… I'm just glad to see you're still the same person I've always known—the one who never stops looking for a way, no matter what."
"Shut up, you little pale thing." Zarius muttered, turning his face away coldly.
Then, she directed her words to Hyran's massive back.
"Hyran…"
The beast didn't move, but his ears twitched slightly.
"Trust him," Yulia said with calm confidence. "Let's trust Zarius."
Hyran lifted his head. He stared out at the empty horizon and let out a long, weary sigh.
"Do whatever you want."
Zarius stared down at his empty hands as if seeing ghosts there. Then, he whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Spare me... I'm getting tired of this crap."
Yulia stepped closer, standing right in front of him.
"Goddammit, can you do anything but moaning?"
Her voice cracked like a whip.
"I doubt this will weigh on you, Zarius Kallistar…
the former advisor to the King of Thrandel."
She leaned in closer, her eyes widening as she stared at him.
"No… the one who rules Arcadia from the shadows."
Then her voice dropped to a sharp whisper only they could hear.
"I can't hear you, half-breed. What's your decision?"