Kaelen waited until Cassian's hands stopped shaking.
The Alpha sat across from him on the crystal floor. His silver eyes were dark. The fracture was still closed, but something else was wrong.
The Emperor's summons, Kaelen thought. The threat. The three days.
Cassian had brought food. Bread and cheese and a flask of water. Kaelen ate slowly. Watched the Alpha over the rim of the cup.
"You are not eating," Kaelen said.
Cassian shook his head. "Not hungry."
"You are never hungry anymore."
"I am never anything anymore."
Kaelen set down the cup.
"Then let me heal you."
"The fracture is closed."
"That is not what I mean."
Cassian looked up. His eyes were tired. Older than his years.
"What do you mean?"
Kaelen leaned forward.
"The Emperor. What does he really want? Not the bond. Not the Reverberation. Why does he want the world to burn?"
Cassian was quiet for a long moment.
Then he lied.
"Only your cooperation. He wants to control you. Use your power. The Reverberation is a threat. A tool to keep others in line."
Kaelen stared at him.
The thread between them pulled. Tight. Accusing.
Liar.
Kaelen felt it. Not in his mind. In his chest. The bond knew Cassian's heartbeat. Knew when it quickened with deception.
"You are lying," Kaelen said.
Cassian's face did not change. But his pulse jumped.
"I am not."
"You are." Kaelen touched his own chest. "The thread knows. Your heart speeds up when you lie."
Cassian's jaw tightened.
"The thread is not a truth-teller."
"It is when it comes to you." Kaelen leaned closer. "Tell me the truth. What does the Emperor really want?"
Cassian looked away.
"He wants the world to break. He wants to build something new from the ashes. He wants to be a god."
"And the Reverberation?"
"Is the hammer."
Kaelen sat back.
"Why would you lie about that?"
Cassian's hands clenched.
"Because the truth is worse."
"Worse than the world burning?"
Cassian met his eyes.
"Yes."
Kaelen waited.
Cassian's voice dropped to a whisper.
"He wants you to forget everything. Your past. Your power. Your self. He wants you empty so he can fill you with himself. The Reverberation is just the noise. You are the prize."
Kaelen's blood went cold.
"He wants to own me."
"Yes."
"Body and mind."
"Yes."
Kaelen looked down at his own hands.
"He already does. I am in a cage. I am losing my memories. I do not even know my own mother's face."
Cassian reached out. Took Kaelen's hands.
"Not your heart. He does not own your heart. That is yours. You gave it to no one."
Kaelen looked up.
"Not yet."
The words hung between them.
Cassian's breath caught.
"Kaelen—"
"Heal me," Kaelen said. "Now. Before I change my mind."
Cassian shook his head. "Not if it costs you another memory."
"They all cost. That is the point. At least this time I am choosing."
"You are not choosing. You are sacrificing."
Kaelen pulled his hands free.
"Same thing."
He pressed his palms to Cassian's chest.
---
The resonance began.
Silver light poured from Kaelen's fingers. The fracture was closed, but the bond was hungry. It wanted more. Wanted deeper.
Kaelen pushed.
Not healing. Not this time. He pushed into Cassian. Into the cracks of him. Into the spaces where the wolf lived.
Show me, Kaelen thought. Show me what you are hiding.
The wolf growled.
But it showed him.
The Emperor's face. Young. Cruel. Black eyes.
The dream-walker's hands in Cassian's mind, planting seeds.
A ritual. A circle of mages. Kaelen in the center, screaming.
The Reverberation. Not an accident. A design.
Kaelen saw it all.
And the crystal demanded payment.
A face.
Young. Brown eyes. A smile like summer. A laugh that sounded like bells.
His first love.
They had stood under a tree. Held hands. Promised forever.
The name was on Kaelen's tongue.
J—
Gone.
The face vanished.
The laugh silenced.
The name became smoke.
Kaelen's hands fell from Cassian's chest.
The light died.
And Kaelen forgot.
---
Cassian felt the moment it happened.
Kaelen's eyes went blank. Not empty like before. Hollow. Like someone had reached inside and pulled out something vital.
"What did you lose?" Cassian asked.
Kaelen blinked.
Slow. Confused.
"I had someone," he said. "Someone I loved. Before the prison. Before all of this."
Cassian's chest tightened.
"What was their name?"
Kaelen touched his own lips.
"I do not know. I had it. A second ago. It was on my tongue. And then…" He shook his head. "Nothing. Just the shape of it. The feeling of it. But the name is gone."
His first love.
He forgot his first love for me.
Cassian wanted to scream. Wanted to punch the crystal walls until his hands broke.
Instead, he pulled Kaelen into his arms.
Held him.
"You are crying," Kaelen said.
Cassian touched his own face. His cheeks were wet.
"I did not know I could still cry."
Kaelen leaned into his chest.
"Whoever they were. My first love. They are gone now. Like everything else."
"I am sorry."
"Do not be. I do not remember them. So it does not hurt."
Cassian held him tighter.
But it hurts me.
Watching you forget.
Watching you disappear piece by piece.
"I will find a way," Cassian said. "To stop this. To give you back what you lost."
Kaelen pulled back.
Looked up at Cassian's face.
"You said that before. About my mother. About the sky. You cannot give back what I never had."
"I can try."
Kaelen touched Cassian's cheek. Wiped away a tear.
"You are a good liar," Kaelen said. "But not to me. The thread knows."
Cassian closed his eyes.
"I know."
"Do not lie to me again."
"I will try."
Kaelen smiled. Small. Sad.
"That is another lie."
Cassian opened his eyes.
"Yes."
They sat in silence. The crystal hummed. The blue light pulsed.
Kaelen's hand stayed on Cassian's cheek.
"I do not remember their name," Kaelen said. "But I remember the feeling. Warm. Safe. Like coming home after a long winter."
Cassian's throat tightened.
"That is how I feel when I am with you."
Kaelen's eyes widened.
"Do not."
"Do not what?"
"Do not say things like that. The Emperor is watching. The dream-walker is listening."
Cassian took Kaelen's hand from his cheek. Held it.
"Let them watch. Let them listen. I do not care anymore."
"You should care."
"I should do many things. Stay away from you. Stop the healings. Let the fracture take me." He pressed Kaelen's hand to his chest. Over the soulwound. "But I cannot. You are in my blood now. In my bones. In the spaces where my mind used to be."
Kaelen's breath hitched.
"That is the bond."
"That is me." Cassian's silver eyes burned. "The bond is the thread. This is my hand holding yours. The bond is the hunger. This is my choice to stay."
Kaelen stared at him.
Long and hard.
"You are going to get us both killed."
"Probably."
"And you do not care."
"I care about you. The rest can burn."
Kaelen laughed. Dry. Broken. But real.
"You are a fool, Cassian Vale."
"Your fool."
Kaelen shook his head.
But he did not pull his hand away.
---
Hours later. Maybe longer. Time moved strange in the vault.
Cassian sat against the wall. Kaelen lay with his head in Cassian's lap.
The Alpha's fingers moved through Kaelen's hair. Slow. Gentle.
"What was your first love's name?" Cassian asked.
Kaelen closed his eyes.
"I do not know."
"Can you guess?"
"It started with a J. I think. Or maybe a G. The sound is still there. The shape. But the letters are gone."
Cassian's hand stilled.
"I am sorry."
"Do not be. They are probably dead by now. The Emperor killed everyone I loved."
Cassian's jaw tightened.
"Not everyone."
Kaelen opened his eyes.
"You do not love me."
Cassian did not answer.
"Cassian. You do not love me. You are addicted to the bond. There is a difference."
Cassian looked down at him.
"Is there?"
Kaelen sat up.
"Yes. Addiction fades. Love does not. When the bond breaks, you will walk away and forget I existed."
Cassian shook his head.
"I will not."
"You will."
"How do you know?"
Kaelen touched his own chest.
"Because I forgot my first love. And they forgot me. That is what happens. People leave. Memories fade. Names disappear."
Cassian took Kaelen's face in his hands.
"I am not a memory. I am here. Now. And I am not leaving."
Kaelen's eyes glistened.
"You cannot promise that."
"I just did."
The thread pulled.
The soulwound burned.
And somewhere above, the Emperor's dream-walker smiled.
They are falling, he whispered.
Good, the Emperor replied. Let them fall. The crash will be beautiful