Cairis didn't loosen his grip.
If anything, it tightened.
Not out of panic—he didn't panic—but out of something far more controlled, far more deliberate. The kind of decision made when uncertainty crossed a line and became a threat.
"Step back."
His voice was low, steady, leaving no room for negotiation.
Liora didn't move.
Not because she couldn't.
Because she didn't see a reason to.
The pressure of his hand around her arm registered distantly now, like something that belonged to a different layer of reality—present, but no longer important. Her attention remained fixed ahead, on the figure beyond the horizon, on the presence that had stopped feeling distant and started feeling… aligned.
You don't have to listen to him.
The thought came quietly.
Not as a command.
Not even as persuasion.
Just—certainty.
Liora exhaled slowly.
"I hear you," Cairis continued, sharper this time. "Whatever it is, it's not something you should be engaging with."
