The clearing reeked of smoke and shadow. The last of the creatures dissolved into black mist beneath Kaelen's blade, vanishing as though it had never been. His chest heaved with the effort, sweat running down his temple. For a long moment, the only sound was the crackle of Ariselle's fire flickering against the night.
Then the rift snapped shut. The silver threads above dimmed, returning to their quiet shimmer in the sky.
Kaelen let out a breath, lowering his sword. His hand trembled, though whether from the fight or from the nearness of her, he couldn't tell.
Ariselle extinguished the flame in her palm. Her cloak swirled around her as she turned to him, eyes unreadable. "You would have been overrun if I hadn't come."
"I had it under control," Kaelen lied.
Her lips curved in the faintest smile. "You always say that."
He sheathed his sword, refusing to look at her. "You're reckless for crossing the threads. If your kind discovers you've been here—"
"They won't," she interrupted softly. Then, more firmly: "They can't know."
Kaelen turned, meeting her gaze. Shadows and fire reflected in her eyes, but beneath them, he saw the truth: fear. Not of the creatures, but of her own people.
"Why risk it?" he demanded. "Why risk everything just to fight beside me?"
For a heartbeat, silence stretched between them, filled only by the night wind stirring the trees. She stepped closer, close enough that he caught the faint scent of smoke and wildflowers clinging to her cloak.
"Because I won't let you carry this alone," she whispered. "Not while I still have strength to give."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. Her words pressed against something inside him he had buried long ago. He wanted to tell her she was wrong. That he didn't need her. That the threads between their worlds would strangle them both if they kept meeting like this.
But instead, he said nothing.
Ariselle studied his silence with a sadness that twisted in his chest. Then she pulled her hood over her dark hair. "I'll leave before dawn. No one will know I was here."
She turned to go, the forest shadows swallowing her form.
Kaelen stood frozen, sword heavy at his side, his heart heavier still. He told himself to let her leave, to keep the lines between their worlds unbroken. Yet as her figure faded, the words tore free before he could stop them:
"Ariselle."
She paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
Kaelen's throat worked, but the words he wanted—the ones that ached in his chest—caught like thorns. At last, he only said, "Be careful."
A small, sad smile touched her lips. "Always."
And then she was gone, leaving only the smell of smoke, the hush of the forest, and the ember of something Kaelen could no longer deny.