Cassidy moved down the corridor with a faint shuffle, the bag on her shoulder rattling softly with every step. Metal against plastic. Snacks against wrappers. Life making small, unimportant noise.
She slowed as she passed Thane's door.
Her hand lifted once—almost knocking—then stopped.
If Thane was asleep, he was asleep. The kind of rest you earned only by pushing yourself past sense and consequence. He wouldn't wake. He shouldn't.
Cassidy lowered her hand.
"I'll be there soon," she murmured to the closed door, more promise than plan.
Then she turned and headed toward Rose's dorm.
As she approached, she caught a voice through the door—low, careful, deliberate.
Raya.
Speaking softly.
Cassidy hesitated.
She knocked. Light. Polite. A courtesy she almost never used.
Then she remembered who she was.
Where Cassidy went, chaos followed—not malicious, just inevitable.
She raised her hand and launched into a rapid, uneven rhythm against the door. Not loud enough to be rude. Not quiet enough to be ignored. A pattern that made no sense and absolutely demanded attention.
She grinned to herself and chuckled.
The door opened fast.
Valeum stood there.
Cassidy jumped back on instinct.
"Ah—shit," she blurted. "Forgot you were out of the cell. Uh—can I come in? Or is this party exclusive?"
Before Valeum could respond, the door opened wider.
Rose stood behind him.
Her eyes widened.
Cassidy stood there battered but upright—eye still covered, posture crooked, but her familiar grin doing most of the work of reassurance.
Rose stepped forward without thinking and caught Cassidy's hands.
"You're up," she said softly. "That was… so quick."
Cassidy glanced down at their joined hands, eyebrows lifting.
"Hand holder, huh?"
Rose realized she was gripping too tightly and withdrew, flustered, stepping aside.
"Come in."
Cassidy stepped inside and scanned the room.
Raya stood near the far wall, posture composed but guarded.
Elysia sat close to her, faint wisps of smoke still lifting from her skin.
Valeum hovered near the edge, hands clasped and unclasped, restless.
And Allium sat on the bed.
He didn't smile.
But his eyes did.
"Hey, Sunburn," Cassidy said easily. "Nina finally let me out."
Allium nodded.
She noticed the damage then—the stillness that didn't belong to him, the way his shoulders sat like they were holding something in place.
Cassidy lifted the bag.
"Good news," she said, giving it a little shake. "I can eat some of this now. Wanna eat with me?"
Allium shook his head.
"I am glad you're up," he said. "But that is your gift. Not mine."
Cassidy reached into the bag and tossed a packet of chips at his face.
It bounced once and landed squarely in his lap.
He stared at it, confused.
Cassidy sat down beside him like the space had always been hers.
He tried to hand the chips back.
She nudged his wrist lightly.
"Nope."
She opened a chocolate bar, took a bite, and spoke around it.
"So," she asked Raya casually, "who died?"
Raya blinked.
The contrast—grief-heavy room, Cassidy eating chocolate—was jarring.
Either astonishing ignorance.
Or remarkable adaptability.
"No one," Raya said carefully. "While you were resting, we attempted to help Allium."
Cassidy nodded.
"Explains Weaver's weird walk. Helped him how, exactly?" she asked, already reaching for more chocolate.
Raya didn't soften it.
"We removed his core. Rose entered. We were unable to help."
Cassidy froze mid-chew.
She looked at Rose.
Really looked.
Allium's stiff posture.
Rose's lowered gaze.
Elysia's wide, unsettled eyes.
Valeum's trembling hands.
She swallowed.
"Oh," Cassidy said. "Shit. That's… that's crazy."
Then, still eating:
"What were you guys thinking?"
Rose flinched.
"Cass," she said, shoulders tight. "What do you mean?"
Cassidy shifted, winced slightly at the movement, then shrugged.
"You didn't ask Weaver," she said simply. "You messed with something you didn't understand. That's not right."
Raya didn't protest.
Rose absorbed it like a blow she'd already expected.
Cassidy turned to Elysia.
"You okay, hun? You look like you're about to short-circuit."
Elysia hesitated.
"I'm okay."
Cassidy softened immediately.
"That line's bullshit," she said gently. "It's okay to say how you really feel."
"Cassidy," Raya said firmly. "Do not press."
Cassidy met her eyes.
She understood protection.
She also understood silence.
"I'm not pressing," she said. "I'm saying she doesn't owe anyone reassurance."
Raya studied her—then glanced briefly at Cassidy's wrist.
The mark was still irritated.
"I respect your opinion," Raya said quietly. "The mark chose well."
Cassidy nodded and took another bite.
"So," she said again. "What happened?"
Rose drew a breath.
"I think… I think only Allium needs to know," she said. "I should tell him."
The room stilled.
"That truth is not yours to speak," Raya said gently. "It belongs to Weaver."
"I know," Rose said. "But I felt it. I saw through his eyes."
She looked at Allium.
"He needs to know. Or he'll never be whole."
Elysia shivered.
"I don't like this," she whispered. "This isn't right."
The weight of it pressed down on her—every thought in the room looping, echoing, colliding.
Raya stepped forward and wrapped Elysia in her arms.
Then she looked to Rose.
"You know where to find us," Raya said. "Do what you must. But this does not belong to you."
She gestured to Valeum.
They left together.
The door closed softly behind them.
Cassidy stood.
"I have no idea what's going on," she said. "I'm gonna check on Thane."
She paused at the door and glanced back at Allium.
"Thanks for the gift," she said. "I love it."
Then she was gone.
Silence filled the room.
Allium's heart thumped hard in his chest.
He could feel Rose's dread.
She sat opposite him, hands clasped, searching for words that didn't want to exist.
"What do you remember of your origin?" she asked. "Honestly. Everything you know."
Allium frowned.
He searched.
Nothing came.
"I don't remember," he said. "Why are you asking this now?"
Rose exhaled slowly.
"When I was inside," she said, "it wasn't what you described. It was loud. Sharp. There was a massive vault of glass. You were there—but as a child."
Allium tilted his head.
"That must be incorrect," he said calmly. "The dreamscape is beautiful. White sand. Soft grass. My connection must have changed it."
He scratched his head.
"I have never been a child."
Rose felt the doubt rise.
Is this a lie?
Or a wound?
"This isn't deception," she said. "What I saw was an early memory. I wore you."
No reaction.
She continued.
"I saw Weaver. Younger. Raya too. During your awakening."
"I have never met Raya," Allium said. "She saw me as something different."
"Yes," Rose said. "But not the whole truth."
Silence.
Then—
A twitch of his eye.
His hand tightened on the blanket.
"Rose," he said carefully. "What are you saying?"
"I heard the word vessel," she said. "And I felt your missions. Your days."
His mind latched onto it.
Vessel.
He touched his hair. His arm. His hands.
The familiar terror—being moved instead of choosing.
Rose stepped closer.
"How do you carry that pain," she asked softly, "and stay calm?"
He looked at her.
Really looked.
Concern. Fear. Connection.
Then he closed himself off.
"I stay calm," he said evenly, "because that is something I can control."
Rose didn't argue.
She sat beside him and took his hand.
Held it.
And they sat—
in silence.