Leira's head snapped toward him.
The glow of the Veil faded from her eyes as she met Kael's stare, his silhouette outlined by the dim blue fire burning in the sanctum torches. He looked exhausted, unsteady on his feet, one hand braced against the stone archway, but his voice carried a sharpness she couldn't ignore.
"Leira…" His voice wavered, strained yet unyielding. "What are you talking about? What can't you tell me?"
Leira rose from her kneeling position slowly, trying to keep her expression neutral. The shift in her aura, the slight flicker of nervous energy in her posture, betrayed her.
"You're awake," she said gently. "You should be back in bed. You need to rest."
Kael shook his head immediately, pushing himself off the archway despite the pain lancing through his body.
"Don't do that. Don't deflect." His brows furrowed. "What were you talking about? What can't you tell me?"
"Kael…" Leira took a step toward him. "Let's talk in the morning, okay? You're tired. I'll walk with you…"
"Leira." He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. His tone stopped her mid step.
She exhaled, tension gathering in the set of her shoulders.
"Please," Kael said softly, but his eyes were searching, pained. "Just tell me what's going on."
She looked away, swallowing hard.
"Kael," she said at last, "I need you to trust me. Trust that I'll tell you what you need to know… when you need to know it."
The way she said it was gentle, but it was a wall.
A boundary. A plea and a warning all at once.
Kael stared at her for a long moment, his jaw tight, chest rising and falling unevenly. Then he looked down, nodding once in reluctant acceptance.
"…Fine," he murmured.
Not satisfied. Not reassured. But trusting her because he always had.
She guided him out of the sanctum, her arm around his waist as he leaned heavily on her. He tried not to show how much every step hurt, but Leira felt the tremor in him, the strain in his breathing. His strength had not returned. Shadows of pain followed his movements like ghosts.
As they walked down the hall, Leira's voice broke the silence again, soft, but heavy.
"…What made you wake up?" Leira asked. "Did you need me?"
Kael hesitated before admitting, "…It's happening again."
She stopped walking. "What is?"
He turned his head away, ashamed of the answer. "The nightmares."
Her chest tightened instantly. "Oh, Kael… I'm so sorry."
"No." He shook his head. "It's fine. I'm just… tired."
His voice cracked slightly on the last word, the exhaustion of days, maybe weeks, spent trapped in the dark realm still clinging to him.
Leira slowly sat on the edge of the bed beside him. He lowered himself with a wince, the mattress dipping under his weight. For a moment, they simply breathed in the same space, the quiet heavy with things neither wanted to say.
Then Leira shifted, sliding under the covers beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She pulled him gently toward her, guiding his head to her chest. Kael's breath stuttered as he sank into her warmth.
Her fingers slipped into his hair, stroking slowly.
"I'm here," she whispered. "You're not alone. Nothing will happen to you. Not while I'm watching."
Kael's arms wrapped around her waist, tight, like she was the only anchor he had. He didn't speak. He didn't need to. His trembling breath said enough.
Little by little, his body eased, breath slowing, warmth settling around them like a blanket.
Leira stayed awake long after he drifted off, listening to the rhythm of his breathing, memorizing every rise and fall.
Eventually, exhaustion pulled her under too.
Morning came softly.
Kael woke first, muscles aching but not nearly as sharply as before. He blinked slowly, taking in the dim morning light filtering through the carved stone window.
Then he saw her.
Leira lay beside him, her breathing soft and steady, her hair spilling across the pillow in dark waves. She was facing him now, somehow they had ended up turned toward each other during the night. For a moment Kael simply watched her.
Her expression was peaceful in sleep, free from burden.
Angel like.
Untouchable.
His.
Leira stirred lightly, lashes fluttering before her eyes slowly opened.
Their gazes met.
Kael smiled faintly. "…Good morning."
A soft smile touched her lips. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"
He rolled his eyes dramatically. "I've had better days."
She snorted. "Technically, that's very sad."
They laughed.
And for a few moments, morning felt gentle.
Later, they took baths, dressed, and stepped outside the temple. The garden stretched around them, quiet, alive, peaceful. Fresh morning wind brushed past them, carrying the scent of blossoms and wet stone.
Kael walked a bit slower, but the air seemed to help him breathe more easily.
"Leira," he said finally, voice low, "you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Her steps faltered for half a second.
"Of course. I know that."
"Then why are you keeping something from me?"
Leira closed her eyes.
"We're back to this again?" she asked softly.
"We never left it." His voice trembled. "You still haven't told me what you were hiding."
She faced forward again, her voice subdued. "Kael… I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because…" Her voice caught. "Because you might try to stop me. And I need to do this. I'm not risking anything happening to you."
Kael stared at her like he didn't recognize her.
"What are you talking about? You're saying plenty and yet nothing…"
She stopped walking. Turned slowly. And said the words she had been avoiding.
"Kael… there's a chance the mission I'm on… I might not make it back."
The world went still.
Wind died.
Birdsong quieted.
Even the sunlight felt colder.
Kael's face drained of emotion before twisting into something raw and pained.
"No. No, Leira, you promised."
"Yes, I did." She stepped closer, voice trembling. "And I still promise. Everything will be fine."
"How?!" The crack in his voice was almost a plea. "How is everything fine if you might die? Do you have any idea what this feels like? What this has felt like? Watching you die over and over again? And now, now that you've come this far, you're telling me it might happen again?"
His voice shook with every word.
"Do you know what it's like to live with that? To wake up terrified that the person you love…"
"I know, Kael!" she yelled, the emotion snapping out of her like lightning. "Okay? I get it!"
Silence hit them. Hard. Violent.
Leira's eyes glistened with sudden tears.
"Do you think I want this?" she whispered, voice breaking. "Do you think I want this life? For the first time in… in this lifetime at least… I have the man I love. And instead of planning a future, I'm fighting monsters that are trying to kill us both."
Her voice cracked further.
"You think I don't know this is insane? You think I don't want to just…just…"
She cut herself off. Her breath shuddered. And then she moved. Fast.
She grabbed the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair, and pulled him into a kiss.
Not a soft one.
Not a question.
A deliberate, desperate, burning kiss.
A kiss that tasted like fear and longing and everything she didn't know how to say. Then she pulled back as if checking for approval.
Kael froze for a heartbeat, surprised, eyes wide.
Then his expression softened, dissolving into something starved.
His hands reached for her, one gripping her waist, pulling her flush against him; the other cupping the back of her neck as he kissed her back with a hunger that made her knees weaken.
They breathed each other in, holding each other like lifelines. Heat rose between them, spreading from their faces to their trembling hands, their racing hearts. The wind stirred around them, rustling leaves in frantic harmony.
Their lips parted only for the briefest breath…
Then crashed together again, deeper, more urgent, his thumb brushing her cheek, her fingers curling against his chest.
Everything else disappeared.
The garden.
The temple.
The world.
Gone.
There was only warmth, breath, skin, closeness.
And then Kael murmured inches away from her face, "Leira…"
She kissed him again, silencing the word.
They backed slowly toward the temple, never looking away from each other, breaths uneven and quickening. When they got to the threshold of his room, they paused only long enough for Kael to cup her jaw and kiss her again.
She answered with equal fire.
He pulled her inside, the heat between them built with every heartbeat, her hands holding his back, his fingers firm around her waist. Their breaths mingled, warm and heavy.
They were seconds away from losing themselves completely…
When…
THUD.
The noise slammed into the moment like a blade.
Leira froze.
Kael broke the kiss, panting, eyes dark with confusion and desire.
Another THUD shook the temple entrance.
Then…
"Keeper."
The Veil's voice surged through her mind like a cold blade.
"Focus. The stench of darkness is close."
Leira squeezed her eyes shut, jaw clenched.
Not now. Not now.
Then…
THUD.
Louder.
At the gate.
Leira's frustration snapped across her face. She pushed away from Kael, breathing hard, and marched toward the door.
Kael hurried behind her despite the pain.
Together, they reached the entrance. Braced themselves. And flung the temple doors open.
Wind rushed in.
And there, kneeling, was a man on both knees, head bowed so low his hair veiled his face. His shoulders trembled, breath ragged.
For a moment, they couldn't see who he was.
Then the man raised his head.
Slowly.
Shaking.
Like lifting a weight heavier than the world.
And Leira's heart lurched.
Those eyes…those bright gold eyes.
Her foe.
Her hunter.
A shadow of her past she did not expect to see, at least not now.
Cassian.
Tears pooled in his golden irises, tracking down his cheeks as his trembling lips shaped her name.
"Leira…" His voice cracked. "…help me."
And then he collapsed to the ground.
Unconscious.