Cassian POV
The café was too bright for my mood, all warm lights and soft music, the kind of place Sarafina loved.
The kind of place I had always pretended to love for her sake.
I chose a seat by the window anyway, because it gave me the widest view of every entrance, every shadow, every person who walked too close. And because the reflection in the glass let me watch the street behind me without looking paranoid.
Old habits never die. Mine certainly didn't.
I'd arrived ten minutes early. She arrived exactly on time.
The bell above the café door chimed softly, and the moment she stepped inside, every sense I had sharpened painfully. Her aura, normally quiet, gentle, familiar, now pulsed with something unstable. Something waking.
Something dangerous.
She scanned the room until her eyes landed on me.
She smiled.
And I forgot, yes literally forgot how to breathe for a second.
Sarafina always did that. she had that effect.
She crossed the café quickly.
I stood to greet her because she liked when people had manners.
"Cassian," she breathed. "Thanks for asking me to come out here, I really needed it."
Her voice was a little raw. Her eyes… shadowed at the edges, like she hadn't slept.
I forced a smile, the kind that always reassured her.
"Thanks for coming" I said softly. "Of course, I thought so too."
We sat.
A waiter approached. She ordered tea. I ordered nothing.
She noticed.
"You're not drinking anything?"
I shrugged. "Already had my fill."
Not a lie, just not the kind she meant.
When the waiter left, Sarafina leaned forward, fingers wrapping around the warm mug like she needed the heat.
She looked nervous.
And that terrified me.
"What's wrong?" I asked gently.
She hesitated. "Strange things keep happening. I…I feel watched. I hear things sometimes. I….I can't tell if I'm imagining it."
My jaw tightened. So it had begun.
Her seal was weakening faster than expected.
I kept my expression calm.
"Anyone would be jumpy after what you've been through these past days," I said smoothly. "You fainted. You lost time. Stress does strange things to the mind."
Half-truths.
Soft lies.
The kind she needed.
But she frowned, unsatisfied. "Cassian, this is different. It's like…like something in me is waking up inside me, I just can't put my hands on it. I just want to know what's wrong with me." She completed softly.
A blade of cold slid down my spine.
She wasn't supposed to feel it this soon.
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "Sarafina… has anyone approached you? Anyone unusual?"
Her lips parted, then she looked away.
Which meant yes.
My jaw clenched. "Who?"
"…No one," she lied.
God, she was terrible at lying. Always had been.
And I didn't push, at least not yet. She shut down when pressured, and I needed her to trust me. More than ever.
"I'm just being paranoid," she added lightly. "Ignore me."
"I could never ignore you," I said before thinking.
Her cheeks warmed.
Mine heated for an entirely different reason.
I had to get control of myself.
I leaned back, watching her. Studying every micro-expression. The pulse in her throat. The way her fingers tapped unconsciously on the mug, three light taps, a rhythm she always used when anxious.
Three was her mother's number.
Bad sign.
"Look," I said softly. "It's good you told me. You don't have to deal with any of this alone."
Her eyes softened.
She believed me.
I hated myself a little for how easy it was.
I felt it then, a shift in the air outside, subtle and wrong.
A ripple of killing intent.
Someone was watching us.
I turned my head slightly, pretending to glance at the street, but my gaze locked instantly onto a figure across the road. Hooded. Still. Too still.
Hunter.
My heartbeat slowed.
My vision sharpened.
Old instincts unfurled like blades.
Sarafina didn't notice. She was stirring her tea, lost in her thoughts.
Good.
I spoke gently, masking everything. "Why don't I walk you home after this?"
She blinked. "Really? You're not busy?"
"I'm never too busy for you."
She smiled again, small, grateful, fragile.
I memorized it.
The hunter shifted, barely a tilt of the head, but enough to confirm intent.
He wasn't here for a long watch.
He was here for a strike.
My hand curled into a fist beneath the table.
Not today.
Not ever again.
"Sarafina," I said quietly, rising to my feet, "wait inside, okay? I'll bring the car around."
She looked confused. "W–why? Cassian, what's…"
"It's nothing," I lied smoothly. "Just stay here for a moment."
I didn't wait for her answer.
By the time she exhaled, I was already pushing out the café door, stepping into the evening breeze with a calm, polite smile, while every sharp, violent instinct inside me awakened.
The hunter noticed me approaching.
He reacted too slowly.
I moved first.
No sound. No hesitation.
Just a sharp, efficient motion into the alley behind him.
The last thing he saw was my eyes.
The last thing he felt was regret.
When I stepped back out, the street was peaceful again.
I wiped my hands clean on a tissue. People passed by, oblivious. Life moved on, unaware of how close death had pressed against it.
I returned to the café doorway.
Through the window, Sarafina sat alone, waiting for me with worry in her eyes.
A familiar ache tightened in my chest.
I whispered to no one; "I'll keep you safe this time… even if it kills me. I will keep my oath, no matter what it takes. "
Then I walked back inside, wearing a perfect smile.