Morning.
Kael was already up, tending the fire, shirtless again, the bandage around his shoulder barely clinging. Aira sat on the edge of the bed, watching him through sleep-heavy eyes.
"I dreamed of you again," she murmured.
He turned. "Me, or someone else I used to be?"
She didn't answer.
Because something had been off in the dream.
He had kissed her—yes—but his name had been different.
A name that tasted familiar: Rynan.
She stood and walked to him slowly. "Kael, do you remember ever being called… anything else?"
He blinked. "Why would I?"
Aira reached out and took his hand. Skin on skin.
This time, the memory that surged wasn't his.
It was hers.
A girl younger than her—herself—but not quite. Running barefoot through ash and fire, a man calling after her, shouting—
> "Aira! Don't forget me, Rynan! I'll find you again—no matter what this curse does to us!"
She gasped and broke the connection.
Kael steadied her. "What did you see?"
Her lips trembled. "Me. You. But it wasn't us."
"It was," he said quietly. "It's always been us."