Sarafina POV
I don't remember deciding to breathe again.
One second, Alistair was slamming into the cloaked man with enough force to rattle the park lights—and the next, the world was a smear of motion and shadow. Growls, whispers, the hiss of something tearing through air.
I stumbled backward, heart ricocheting inside my ribs.
The night felt thick. Wrong. Electric.
Then—
Silence.
The shadows snapped back into place like they'd never moved at all.
Alistair stood a few feet away, chest rising and falling too evenly for someone who had just fought a creature made of darkness.
The cloaked man was gone.
Just… gone.
I swallowed hard. "What—what was that?"
He didn't answer.
Of course he didn't.
His eyes were still glowing faintly, just enough for me to see the shift. The not-human part of him simmering just beneath the surface.
Before I could step back—
Before he could step forward—
A second presence hit the air, hot and sharp and furious.
Cassian.
He appeared at the edge of the path like he'd been carved from the anger in the air itself—jaw tight, fists clenched, eyes scanning me first.
"Are you okay?" he demanded, rushing to my side.
I nodded shakily. "Cassian I'm….i'm.. fine, I just…something happened.."
"You were screaming." His voice was low, ragged. "I heard it from two streets away."
I blinked. "I… was I screaming?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward Alistair.
The temperature dropped.
Alistair straightened, expression smoothing into something blank and unreadable. No glow now. No slip of emotion.
Just danger wrapped in calm.
Cassian took one slow step forward.
"What. Did. You. Do to her?"
Alistair didn't move. "I saved her."
"From what?" Cassian snapped. "Because from where I'm standing, the only threat left in this park is YOU."
"Cassian—" I tried, but neither of them heard me.
Alistair's voice was ice. "The thing that attacked her will come again."
"And you think YOU get to decide how she's protected?" Cassian shot back. "She's not yours."
Alistair's jaw tightened. Just a fraction. Just enough.
"She is under my watch."
Cassian laughed—dark, humorless.
"No. She isn't."
The air between them rippled.
Alistair took a measured step forward, boots silent on the pavement. "Stay out of my way."
"Or what?" Cassian asked, stepping forward too—close enough that their shadows almost touched. "You'll finish what you started in the alley that night?"
A muscle twitched in Alistair's cheek.
"I could," he said softly.
Cassian didn't flinch. "Try."
The word dropped like a dare between them.
I grabbed Cassian's arm. "Stop—please—both of you. What is going on? What was that thing? And why—why are you acting like you're about to tear each other apart?"
Alistair finally looked at me.
Really looked.
The storm in his eyes dimmed. Just slightly.
"It targeted you," he said. "That's all that matters."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you need."
Cassian stepped protectively in front of me. "If you come near her again—"
"Cassian—"
He didn't stop. "I won't warn you a third time."
Alistair tilted his head, something ancient flickering behind his eyes.
"You think you can stop me," he murmured.
"I know I can," Cassian growled.
I felt the air tighten between them—like the whole park was holding its breath, waiting to see who would strike first.
But Alistair didn't move.
Didn't attack.
Didn't defend.
He just stared at me, something unreadable in his gaze.
Then he whispered, "Don't walk home alone again."
And vanished.
Gone in a blink.
Cassian cursed under his breath. "Dammit—"
I swallowed. "Cassian… what is he?"
His shoulders tensed.
Then he turned toward me, eyes softening—but only barely.
"Someone you need to stay away from."
Which would've been easier if the night hadn't whispered another truth into my bones:
I wasn't sure I wanted to.
Not anymore.