Aria's POV.
I froze the second I saw him.
Cassian.
My chest heaved. My lungs burned. My legs trembled. I had run here, fast, without thinking, chasing the one thing I could never stop chasing: him. Every heartbeat, every step, every second without him pressed down on me, and now I couldn’t stop.
He saw me. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Alert, tense, and impossibly alive. And then, without a word, I ran into him.
I threw myself into his arms.
He stiffened just long enough to make my chest tighten. And then he wrapped me up, solid and unyielding, pulling me close. My forehead pressed into his chest, and the tears I’d been holding back for weeks spilled over.
“Aria…” His voice was low, rough, and steady. I buried my face deeper.
He held me tighter, and I felt the warmt
