Bram found Kael alone in the west armory an hour before dusk.
It wasn't hard.
Kael had gone there on purpose.
The armory was one of the few places in Helios Gate where the air always smelled the same—oil, leather, steel, old cedar racks, solar charge dust. Clean things. Practical things. Things that did not pulse or bleed.
He was standing in front of the practice spear rack, not touching any of them, when Bram's reflection appeared in the polished steel cabinet door behind him.
"You didn't fight hard enough."
Kael didn't turn around immediately.
He just exhaled.
Then faced him.
Bram filled the doorway like an accusation made flesh. His bandages had been removed. The shoulder that had nearly been torn open at the canal looked fully healed except for a red seam disappearing under his shirt. His eyes looked tired in a way the rest of him refused to.
"You think I wanted them leaving you behind?"
Bram shrugged.
"One of us is still going."
"It wasn't my call."
"You're the reason there was a call."
That landed.
Kael let it.
Bram stepped farther into the room.
"When we came back through the gate after Hollow Row, I knew things were bad." He gestured vaguely. "Ancients. symbols. city nearly overrun. standard bad. Then they dragged you below and suddenly the whole fortress started acting like we all brought home a bomb."
Kael looked down at the stone floor.
"You might have."
Bram gave a short, humorless laugh.
"There he is. That dramatic nonsense. I was worried you'd gone full ancient on us."
Kael almost smiled at that.
Almost.
Then Bram's face hardened again.
"I'm serious."
"I know."
"You think because you're the one who got bitten, the rest of this is yours to carry alone?"
Kael didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
Bram shook his head slowly.
"That's stupid."
"You always so eloquent?"
"Only when talking to people who need simple language."
Kael leaned against the spear rack and folded his arms.
"What do you want me to say?"
Bram took another step forward.
"I want you to stop looking at us like we're already dead."
That hit harder than any of Malik's honesty or Rhyse's coldness.
Kael opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Because Bram wasn't wrong.
Since Hollow Row, every time he looked at the squad he saw angles of loss. Weaknesses. Distances. The ways they could die. The ways he could kill them if he stopped paying attention for half a second.
It was easier to put himself outside the circle than admit how badly he still needed to stay in it.
Bram saw the answer on his face and his expression softened.
Not much.
Just enough.
"Look," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I know I'm not subtle."
"No."
"Or graceful."
"Definitely no."
"Or especially bright—"
Kael snorted despite himself. "Questionable."
Bram pointed at him. "There he is." Then he lowered his hand. "But I know this: whatever happened in Hollow Row didn't just happen to you."
Kael's gaze dropped to Bram's hands.
His friend noticed and held them up.
A little too casually.
"See this? Yesterday I picked up a loaded artillery plate because I thought it was a storage lid." He flexed once. Tendons shifted under the skin with too much density. "Malik says I'm becoming a problem."
"Malik says that about everyone."
"True." Bram moved closer until he was standing directly in front of Kael. "Point is, if you go weird, I go weird. If you go bad, I'm probably right behind you. That means maybe you stop trying to act like this is all on you."
Kael stared at him for a long second.
Then, quietly:
"I don't know how not to."
Bram's expression changed.
No jokes.
No edge.
Just understanding and frustration in equal measure.
"Then learn."
The word sat between them.
Simple. Heavy.
Possible.
From the hallway outside came the muted sound of boots and orders. Time moving.
The mission getting closer.
Bram jerked his chin toward the door.
"You bring back whatever's in that Library. You keep Elara from getting herself killed. You don't let Malik become even more unbearable. And if some ancient asks questions about me—"
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"—tell them I'm the pretty one."
Kael laughed.
Actually laughed.
It came out rough and shorter than it should have, but it was real.
Bram grinned, satisfied with himself.
"There. Better."
Then he stepped back and the grin faded into something more serious.
"Come back alive, yeah?"
Kael nodded once.
"Yeah."
Bram held out his arm instead of a hand.
Kael looked at it for half a second, then locked forearms with him.
The grip was stronger than any human grip should have been.
But controlled.
Bram released him and headed for the door.
At the threshold he paused.
Without turning, he said, "For what it's worth…"
Kael waited.
"You're still you."
Then he left.
Kael stood alone in the armory again with the smell of oil and metal around him and Bram's words still hanging in the air.
He wanted to believe them.
That was the problem.
He really, really wanted to.