He let me see him break. And I realized: we were both destroyed. Both trying to rebuild from rubble.
The confession changed things.
Not immediately. Not in obvious ways. But lying in Kairos's bed at three in the morning, their bodies cooling, the frenzy finally spent—the silence felt different. Heavier. Weighted with words that needed speaking.
"I'm terrified," Kairos said suddenly, his voice rough in the darkness.
Elara turned to face him. His profile was barely visible in the dim light filtering through the curtains. Strong jaw. Sharp cheekbones. The face of a man who controlled empires.
But his voice? That belonged to someone barely holding together.
"Of what?" she asked quietly.
