Chapter 121
ATASHA’S POV
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“Where are we going?” I asked, not because I was in a hurry to know. Honestly, I was more worried about him than the destination. Being carried like this, tucked in his arms as he trudged through snow, had to be exhausting.
It felt like we’d been moving for hours, though I’d lost track of time. Part of me wanted to ask outright if he was tired, if he needed to stop, maybe even set me down for a while. But the words stuck in my throat. Asking if he was tired felt too… personal. Maybe even insulting.
So instead, I settled for the safer question, the one about where we were going. It sounded simple enough, though I was fully aware it wasn’t the thing I really wanted to know.
The longer he carried me, the more aware I became of the way his arms held me. My back was pressed firmly against his chest, and every step reminded me of how steady his grip was, how warm he felt despite the freezing wind cutting across us.
At first, I tried to keep my body stiff, to make it seem like this was nothing unusual, but the truth was his warmth had already started to feel too familiar. Like I’d been here before, tucked against him, and my body was remembering faster than my mind wanted to admit.
My fingers clutched at his cloak without meaning to. I told myself it was for balance, but really, it was because letting go felt impossible.
Cassian’s voice broke through the rush of wind. “You’re awfully quiet. I thought you liked being in my arms.”
Heat shot straight to my face. My mouth opened, but nothing came out except a choked sound that was neither protest nor agreement. Before I could gather myself enough to form words, he moved.
The ground disappeared.
He jumped, landing with a solid thud on a branch above. My stomach lurched, and I gripped his cloak tighter, biting back a startled yelp. Then he jumped again, and again, until the branches blurred past us in dizzying succession. He stopped only when the trees thinned into an open view, balancing with casual ease on a branch that looked far too narrow to hold both of us.
I froze.
“Want to climb on my back instead?” he asked, turning his head slightly. “The view’s better that way.”
“No–no, it’s fine. Just put me down,” I said quickly, trying to sound steady.
He set me on the branch, his hands leaving me, and I regretted the request instantly. My legs went weak. My stomach dropped. The branch felt too narrow, the ground too far. All color drained from my face as I clung to the nearest limb.
Cassian’s mouth twitched, like he could already see the panic washing over me. “Don’t look down.”
I nodded so fast my neck hurt, staring at the bark under my fingers. The cold air stung at my face, sharper up
15:17 Sun, Sep 28
Chapter 121
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here, and that was when it hit me, this was why he’d given me his cloak earlier. Without it, I’d be shaking from. more than just fear. That wasn’t something that my ability could heal.
“Look,” he said.
I forced myself to lift my gaze.
And I forgot to breathe.
The world stretched wide in front of me. The sun dipped low, casting the sky in streaks of amber and deep orange, and far below, a lake gleamed like polished glass. From up here, it didn’t look real, just a stretch of silver–blue cradled between dark forests. The air was cold, biting even.
For a moment, I couldn’t think about my fear or how ridiculous I must have looked clutching a branch like my life depended on it. All I could see was the horizon opening up in front of me, endless and raw, and the fact that Cassian was the one who had brought me here to see it.
I didn’t even realize my hand had flown to my mouth until I felt my own fingers pressing against my lips. The view was so vast, so unexpected, that I couldn’t hold back the reaction.
“I used to watch this alone,” Cassian’s voice came low, steady against the wind.
My eyes slid toward him. He wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, on the sun melting into the edges of the lake. With the light brushing across his face, shadows sharp against his features, he looked different. Not softer, but… striking in a way that made it hard to look away. Handsome, almost otherworldly.
“You had no one to bring here?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
“No.” His eyes never left the view. “I had no one. No reason to share it.”
Something squeezed in my chest. “That must have been lonely.”
His jaw shifted, and he answered without hesitation. “You can’t be lonely if you have yourself.”
I blinked at him, unsure what that even meant. “What?”
He finally turned his head a fraction, his crimson eyes catching the last of the sunlight. “I was prepared to live alone for a lifetime. Alone isn’t lonely. It’s peace.”
The word hit me harder than I wanted it to. Peace. I swallowed, staring back at the horizon. Peacenand freedom. The things I had always wanted but never had. My whole life had been noise, demands, and chains I never chose.
“Peace would be nice,” I admitted quietly.
He gave a small nod, like he understood, like that answer was enough.
Before I could stop myself, before I could even think it through, I reached sideways and slid my hand over his. His skin was warm against mine. My fingers curled around his, nervous but unwilling to pull back.
I forced myself to look at him. “From now on, you don’t have to watch this view alone,” I said, the words
15:17 Sun, Sep 28
Chapter 121
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tumbling out faster than I could second–guess them. “I can come with you. Anytime. I might not like heights that much.” I added quickly, heat creeping up my face. “But I’ll still come… if it’s to watch the sunset with you.
For a second, the wind was the only thing between us. His eyes stayed on mine, but he didn’t pull away. Then he asked, voice low, “Always?”
I smiled, a little nervous, but I didn’t have any doubt in me. “Always”
That was when a long, guttural howl split through the air, rolling from the forest below. My smile faltered. I turned my head toward the horizon and only then realized the sun was gone. Night had come. Again.
AD
