[Dark Alley]
Seraphile didn't bother asking why Rogan was there so late.
The moment she opened the door and saw his face, she stepped aside and let him in.
"You shouldn't be here," she said quietly. "Not at this hour."
"That makes two of us," Rogan replied, shutting the door behind him.
She turned to face him. "What happened?"
"I need something stronger."
The words landed hard between them.
Seraphile's expression closed instantly. "No."
Rogan took a step forward. "You didn't even ask what I meant."
"I don't need to," she snapped. "I know exactly what you are asking for."
"I don't care," he shot back. "Whatever you have been giving me, it's not enough anymore."
"That's because it was never meant to last forever," Seraphile said sharply. "It was a stopgap, Rogan. It was never the solution."
"She almost got followed tonight."
That stopped her and silence followed
"What?" Seraphile frowned.
"I felt it," Rogan said, his voice low and controlled but shaking at the edges. "In the downtown alley. The weight and the stillness was dark and heavy. It wasn't human and it wasn't random."
Seraphile folded her arms. "Are you sure?"
"I have lived long enough to know the difference," he said. "I think they know, Sera."
Silence stretched, thick and dangerous.
"No, that's impossible," she said finally. "If they had known, we both wouldn't have been alive."
"How can you be so sure?"
Seraphile closed her eyes and sighed, "I haven't sensed their presence yet. They don't know."
"Is it?" Rogan snapped. "Because she is getting stronger and every spell you give me wears off faster than the last."
Seraphile looked away. "That doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything," Rogan hissed. "I need something more powerful, something that can actually hide her."
Her head whipped back toward him. "And kill her?"
Rogan froze.
"You know what would happen if I push her aura down any further," Seraphile continued. "Her body won't be able to carry it, her magic will turn inward and it will tear her apart."
"I won't let that happen."
"You don't get to decide that," she said coldly. "This isn't about control anymore."
Rogan dragged a hand through his hair, pacing. "Then tell me what I am supposed to do. Just wait until someone drags her away in the middle of the night?"
Seraphile's voice dropped. "We can't suppress her aura anymore."
Rogan stopped dead. "What?"
"It's already resisting," she said. "That's why you are seeing cracks. She is growing into what she is and every spell you use to bury it only makes the backlash worse."
"That's not an option," Rogan said.
"It is," Seraphile replied. "Whether you like it or not."
She stepped closer. "You are not protecting her by lying anymore, you are endangering her."
Rogan's chest rose and fell heavily. "She is not ready."
"She will never be ready if you keep her blind," Seraphile shot back. "And the longer you wait, the worse it will be when the truth finally comes out."
Rogan looked away, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
Outside, the city was quiet, too quiet.
Seraphile softened, just slightly. "You don't have much time left, Rogan. It's a ticking bomb now."
He knew.
That was the part he hadn't been able to say out loud.
….