Sleep wasn't coming back.
I knew it the moment I sat upright in bed.
The dream still clung to me.
Not the nightmare kind.
Those I understood.
Those I knew how to fight.
This was worse.
Because part of me didn't want to let it go.
I stared into the darkness of my room, listening to the silence settle around me.
The palace was quiet.
Mostly.
A distant guard changing posts.
The crackle of a dying hearth somewhere down the hall.
The occasional groan of old stone shifting beneath winter winds.
Normal sounds.
Safe sounds.
But my pulse still hadn't settled.
I could still see him.
Still feel the warmth of his hand.
Still hear the questions neither of us had managed to answer.
"Who are you to me?"
"Why do you affect me?"
His questions pulsed faintly beneath my ribs.
Silent.
Distant.
Present.
Always present.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
That didn't help.
If anything it made it worse.
So after another minute of staring at the ceiling
I gave up.
The blankets fell away.
The cold hit immediately.
Good.
Maybe it would clear my head.
It didn't.
I pulled on my boots and slipped quietly from the room.
The palace halls were nearly empty at this hour.
Moonlight spilled through tall windows, silvering the stone floors.
My footsteps echoed softly.
For a while I simply walked.
No destination.
No purpose.
Just movement.
Trying to outrun thoughts that refused to stay behind.
Eventually I found myself near the outer balconies overlooking the city.
Snow glittered below.
The Water Kingdom slept beneath a blanket of white.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Almost enough to make someone forget what had happened here.
Almost.
My fingers tightened against the railing.
Children had died in this kingdom.
Children.
The thought still felt like broken glass.
The guilt followed immediately after.
The surviving girl.
The others.
The choice.
Gods.
The choice.
I pushed away from the railing before the thoughts could settle too deeply.
I needed something else.
Something familiar.
Something that belonged to the girl I had been before kingdoms and relics and prophecies.
Before gods whispered in my head.
Before bonds tied me to princes.
My gaze lifted toward the palace walls.
A slow smile tugged at my mouth.
There you are.
Without another thought I vaulted over the railing.
My fingers caught stone.
Cold.
Solid.
Real.
The climb came naturally.
Muscle memory.
Instinct.
The familiar burn in my arms.
The stretch of my shoulders.
The rush of moving upward.
For a little while—
I wasn't the Primal Dragon.
I wasn't a future executioner.
I wasn't the girl carrying half the world's problems on her shoulders.
I was just Lyra.
The thief.
The climber.
The survivor.
The girl who had spent half her life scaling rooftops because the ground had never felt safe enough.
The higher I climbed, the easier it became to breathe.
The wind tangled through my hair.
The city spread beneath me.
And for a few precious moments—
everything quieted.
Not disappeared.
Just...
softened.
I crossed a narrow ledge.
Leapt to another section of roof.
Climbed again.
Until eventually—
I landed lightly on a familiar balcony.
My boots touched stone.
I straightened.
And immediately froze.
Light spilled from beneath the curtains.
Someone was awake.
I frowned.
At this hour?
My gaze shifted toward the door.
Muir's chambers.
Which meant—
Probably Muir.
Or Revik.
Or both.
I should leave.
I knew I should.
Instead I stood there.
Hesitating.
Like an idiot.
Maybe because some part of me wanted company.
Maybe because another part didn't want to admit it.
I turned slightly.
Preparing to climb away.
The door opened.
"What's going on, lovey?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Revik leaned casually against the doorway.
Arms crossed.
Entirely too awake for someone standing in the middle of the night.
His grin widened immediately.
"Well that's concerning."
I glared at him.
"You almost gave me a heart attack."
"You scale palace walls for fun."
He looked deeply unimpressed.
"I refuse to believe you're frightened by a door."
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing.
Revik laughed.
Actually laughed.
The bastard.
"How did you know I was here?"
That only made him laugh harder.
"Lyra."
He wiped a hand across his face.
"The sigh you let out practically shook the room."
I blinked.
"It wasn't that loud."
"It absolutely was."
"It wasn't."
"It sounded like someone carrying the weight of civilization."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're dramatic."
"Coming from you?"
Fair.
Unfortunately.
My expression softened slightly.
Not enough that most people would notice.
He did.
Because he knew me now.
"Couldn't sleep?"
I shrugged.
Attempting nonchalance.
It fooled exactly nobody.
Especially not Revik.
"Right."
He stepped fully onto the balcony.
Closing the door behind him.
"Try again."
I sighed.
And immediately watched his expression turn smug.
Traitor.
We moved to the railing.
The city stretched beneath us.
Quiet.
Still.
Waiting for morning.
For several minutes neither of us spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
That was the thing about Revik.
He never demanded conversation.
Never pushed.
He simply waited.
Patient.
Until you were ready.
Eventually—
I broke.
"I had another dream."
The words came quietly.
He nodded.
Listening.
I stared at the city lights.
"It felt real."
"Those are usually the worst kind."
A humorless laugh escaped me.
"Yeah."
Silence again.
Then—
"It was him."
Revik didn't react.
Didn't tense.
Didn't judge.
Just listened.
Gods.
That somehow made it easier.
And harder.
"We talked."
I swallowed.
"The relic."
"The Water King."
"The bond."
Everything.
Nothing.
The thread pulsed faintly.
Like it knew we were discussing it.
Like it was listening.
My chest tightened.
"I don't know what to do anymore."
The confession escaped before I could stop it.
Raw.
Honest.
Embarrassing.
"I keep feeling him."
The words tumbled out now.
Faster.
Like a dam finally cracking.
"The anger. The conflict. The pieces of him still fighting."
I gripped the railing tighter.
"And I know he's still in there."
My voice broke slightly.
Just slightly.
"But what if I'm wrong?"
Revik remained silent.
So I kept going.
Because now that I'd started—
I couldn't seem to stop.
"What if he gets the Earth Relic?"
The words hurt.
Actually hurt.
"What if that's the thing that finally destroys whatever part of him is left?"
The thread pulsed.
Sharp.
Distant.
And suddenly tears were burning behind my eyes.
Gods.
I hated crying.
Especially now.
Especially here.
"I don't know if I can save him."
There.
The truth.
The real truth.
The one I'd been avoiding.
The one sitting beneath everything else.
Not the kingdom.
Not the war.
Not the relics.
Him.
Always him.
I looked away.
Ashamed suddenly.
Because there was more.
So much more.
"The Water King."
My voice dropped lower.
"I know what needs to happen."
Revik nodded once.
Slowly.
"I know."
"I keep thinking about Muir."
That hurt too.
Different.
But still painful.
"He says he agrees."
I laughed weakly.
"But what happens after?"
The city blurred slightly through gathering tears.
"What happens when it's done?"
I swallowed hard.
"What if he hates me for it?"
The words hung between us.
Ugly.
Fearful.
Honest.
"And what if I fail?"
That one came out barely above a whisper.
"What if everyone is wrong about me?"
The tears finally escaped.
One.
Then another.
"What if I'm not enough?"
The silence that followed felt enormous.
The entire kingdom seemed to hold its breath.
I stared stubbornly at the city.
Unable to look at him.
Unable to stop talking.
"I keep losing people."
My voice cracked completely now.
"The girls in the cave."
The children.
The kingdoms.
The lives.
The impossible choices.
"I keep making decisions that hurt people."
The tears fell freely now.
"I don't know if I'm doing the right thing anymore."
And then—
strong arms wrapped around me.
I froze.
For half a second.
Then broke completely.
Because Revik didn't say anything.
Didn't offer solutions.
Didn't make jokes.
Didn't tell me everything would be fine.
He just held me.
Like family.
Like I mattered.
Like I wasn't carrying this alone.
The realization nearly destroyed me.
I buried my face against his shoulder.
And for the first time in weeks—
I let myself fall apart.
Not completely.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Enough to breathe.
Enough to hurt.
Enough to stop pretending I was stronger than I felt.
Revik's hand rested against the back of my head.
Steady.
Protective.
Safe.
Then—
he pressed a kiss against my forehead.
Gentle.
Brotherly.
Certain.
When he finally spoke—
his voice was quiet.
Firm.
Unshakable.
"Lyra."
I looked up.
Eyes burning.
Heart aching.
He held my gaze.
And said the one thing I didn't realize I needed to hear.
"You are not alone."
Something inside me cracked.
Not painfully.
Relief.
Pure relief.
Revik smiled softly.
A rare thing.
A precious thing.
"We're family."
The word hit harder than any blade ever could.
Family.
Not allies.
Not friends.
Family.
He squeezed my shoulder.
"We'll get through this together."
The city lights blurred completely now.
"We always do."
His smile widened slightly.
"Every step of the way."
And for the first time since the caves.
Since the war.
Since the dreams.
Since Raiden left—
I believed him.
Not because the future suddenly looked easier.
Not because the choices ahead would hurt less.
Not because I had answers.
But because I wasn't facing them alone.
And somehow—
that changed everything.
We stood there for a long time after that.
Watching the sleeping city.
Listening to the wind.
Two survivors looking toward a future neither of us could fully see.
And for the first time in a very long while—
the weight on my shoulders felt just a little lighter.