The cathedral was colder than usual. Its long-forgotten corridors echoed with whispers of a past that didn't belong to them, but somehow followed them. As Cain helped lay his mother on a stone bench beneath the broken arch of a stained-glass window, Selene stayed close, her fingers brushing his lightly.
He was exhausted, bruised, quiet — but not from pain. It was the weight of responsibility, of secrets unearthed too fast.
Lucien paced. Ayden checked the perimeter again.
And Eira? She stood in the shadows. Watching Cain. Watching Selene.
The silence between them was thick. Like the last pages of an old book no one wanted to reread.
Eira finally stepped forward, the faintest tremor in her voice. "I didn't expect to find you like this, Cain."
Cain looked at her, but his expression was unreadable. "Like what?"
"With her." She glanced at Selene, and there it was — the old jealousy. Not malicious, but aching. "You never looked at me that way. Not even when we were…"
Selene didn't flinch. Her hands were calm, even as her eyes stayed locked on Eira.
Cain stepped closer to Eira, but not gently. His voice didn't shake. "You left, Eira. Without a word. You disappeared when everything was falling apart."
"I thought you'd wait for me."
Cain blinked — once, slow. "I did. Until I realized you never planned to return."
Selene finally spoke. "I was there when he broke. I was there when the curse nearly took him. You weren't."
Eira turned to her, bitterness surfacing. "You don't know what we had."
"No," Selene said, calm and steady. "But I know what we have. And I know Cain doesn't flinch in his sleep anymore. I know he laughs now. I know he's let go of what used to be."
Cain's hand slipped into Selene's. "I don't live in the past. Not anymore."
Eira's lip trembled, but she held her pride. "Then why does it still hurt?"
Ayden's voice cut in from the hall. "Sorry to ruin the emotional tension, but we've got company. A lot of company."
Lucien rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. Shadow troops?"
Ayden nodded. "And they're not here to talk about feelings."
As night dropped its curtain, the brothers and their allies prepared for what was coming. Cain stood at the cathedral steps, armored and sharp-eyed. Selene beside him, her twin daggers gleaming under the moonlight.
Eira stayed behind, watching. Something in her eyes had shifted — no longer hope, but regret.
Lucien came to stand beside her.
"You lost him, Eira," he said plainly.
"I know," she whispered.
"He's better now," Lucien added, then looked at her. "But that doesn't mean you can't be better too."
The first arrow sliced through the stained glass.
A flare of dark magic lit the field like a firestorm. The shadows — assassins from the Elder Council — emerged cloaked in ink and blood.
Cain and Selene charged as one.
Ayden shouted orders. Lucien moved like lightning through them.
And Eira? She stepped forward for the first time not to win him back, but to fight beside them. For something bigger.
Eira realizes Cain's heart no longer belongs to her, and maybe never fully did. Selene and Cain, now unshakable, prepare for war as the shadows of the Council close in. Old wounds, new battles — and a love that finally stands firm.