They found Sarah in the library, surrounded by psychology textbooks and research papers. She looked up when they approached, her expression shifting from surprise to concern when she saw Dario's serious expression.
"Sarah," Dario said, sitting down across from her. "We need to talk. Privately."
She gathered her things quickly, and they found an empty study room on the upper floor. Marcus hung back, giving them space, but staying close enough to intervene if necessary.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked once the door was closed. "You've been acting strange for weeks, and now you show up with someone I've never met looking like you're about to deliver bad news."
"I am about to deliver bad news. But first, I need you to promise me you'll listen to everything I have to say before you react."
"Dario, you're scaring me."
"I'm scared too. But you need to know the truth."
He told her everything. About Alex's group, about the people they'd killed, about the threats against her life. About Cassius's true nature and the power he represented. About Marcus and Aurelius and the choice he was facing.
Sarah listened in silence, her expression growing more shocked with each revelation.
"You're telling me," she said finally, "that everything I thought I knew about the world is wrong. That there are ancient supernatural entities living in human hosts, government conspiracies to study them, and vigilante groups killing people in the name of protection."
"Yes."
"And you want me to just accept this and run away with you to hide from people who might or might not be trying to kill us."
"I want you to be safe."
Sarah was quiet for a long moment, processing everything she'd heard.
"Can I meet him?" she asked finally. "Cassius?"
"Are you sure?"
"If I'm going to make a decision that affects the rest of my life, I want all the information I can get."
Dario nodded and stepped back, letting Cassius surface. When he spoke, his voice carried the familiar deeper resonance.
"Hello, Sarah."
"Hello, Cassius. I have some questions."
"I imagine you do."
"Are you really a fallen angel? A god of demons?"
"I was. A very long time ago. I'm not that being anymore."
"What changed?"
"Dario changed me. His humanity, his capacity for love without condition—it reminded me of what I'd lost when I fell from grace."
"And these people who are after you—they really would hurt me to get to you?"
"They would hurt anyone they perceived as a threat or an obstacle. Your research into people like us makes you both in their eyes."
"What about your abilities? Can you really erase people from existence?"
Cassius hesitated. "Yes. But I won't. Not anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because Dario wouldn't forgive me. And because I've learned that some powers are too dangerous to use, regardless of the circumstances."
Sarah nodded slowly, then looked at Marcus.
"And you? Are you really offering to help protect someone you don't know?"
Marcus stepped forward. "Aurelius and I understand what it's like to live in hiding, to constantly fear discovery. We wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially someone Dario cares about."
"What exactly are you offering?"
"Safe passage to a secure location. New identities if you want them. Protection from both supernatural and mundane threats."
"And in return?"
"Nothing. This is what we do—we help people like us stay safe."
Sarah was quiet for several minutes, staring out the window at the campus below.
"I need time to think," she said finally.
"How much time?" Dario asked.
"A day. Maybe two. This is... a lot to process."
"I understand. But Sarah, we can't wait too long. Alex's people are watching us, and if they think I'm planning to leave..."
"I know. I'll have an answer by tomorrow night."
They left her in the study room, surrounded by her psychology textbooks that suddenly seemed woefully inadequate to explain the reality she was facing.
As they walked across campus, Marcus took Dario's hand.
"You did the right thing," he said. "Telling her the truth."
"Did I? Because now she has to choose between everything she's known and a future that might get her killed."
"She has to choose between a lie and the truth. That's always the right choice to offer someone."
Dario hoped he was right. Because tomorrow night, everything would change, one way or another.