Rhys stood outside a therapist's office, gathering courage.
Three months since the curse broke. Three months of slowly rebuilding a life outside the palace's shadow.
He'd gotten an apartment. Started painting—turned out Valerian's artistic talent had transferred through the lives. He was good. Really good.
And he'd been working up the courage to do this: trauma therapy.
Dr. Sarah Martinez specialized in PTSD. She didn't need to believe in ghosts and curses to help Rhys process what he'd been through.
"Mr. Castor?" She greeted him with a warm smile. "Come in."
The session was hard. Talking about Kai's death. About the violation during sleep. About the impossible choice he'd been forced to make.
But it was also... freeing.
"You survived something that should have destroyed you," Dr. Martinez said at the end. "That takes incredible strength."
"I don't feel strong."
"Strength isn't about feeling powerful. It's about continuing to move forward even when you don't."
Afterward, Rhys met Liam at a coffee shop. They'd been doing this once a week—just coffee, just talking, rebuilding trust and friendship before anything else.
"How was therapy?" Liam asked.
"Hard. Good. Both." Rhys wrapped his hands around his mug. "She says I'm processing healthily. Which is apparently a thing that can be measured."
"That's great."
They sat in comfortable silence.
Then Rhys said: "I've been thinking about Pryce. About whether I was too harsh."
"Were you?"
"I don't know. Isolation forever is pretty severe."
"He murdered six people and violated you repeatedly." Liam's voice was gentle but firm. "You didn't give him eternal torture. You gave him time to actually reflect and change. That's more mercy than most would offer."
"What if he never changes?"
"Then he stays there. That's the consequence of his choices."
Rhys nodded slowly. It still felt heavy, but less crushing than before.
"I'm starting to feel like myself again," he admitted. "Not Elara. Not any past life. Just Rhys."
"Good." Liam smiled. "Because Rhys is pretty great."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Liam's eyes were warm. "Whenever you're ready—no rush—I'd like to take Rhys on an actual date. Not Cassian courting Elara. Just us."
Rhys felt his heart skip. "I think I'd like that."
"When?"
"Soon. Maybe... next week?"
"I can do next week." Liam grinned. "Fair warning: I'm incredibly boring on dates. I'll probably suggest a museum or bookstore."
"That sounds perfect."