I should’ve known. I should’ve seen it coming.
Cassian was different. I could feel it in the air between us. The silence stretched out, tight, like something was hanging there that neither of us wanted to discuss. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, but I knew I had to.
He was sitting across from me by the fire, staring into it like it had the answers to all his problems. His eyes were tired, almost vacant. But it wasn’t the same tiredness from before. This was heavier. Something had changed in him. I could feel it in the way he wouldn’t look at me. He was holding himself like he was waiting for something to happen. Or maybe he was waiting for me to say something.
So I did.
“Cassian.”
He didn’t even blink, just kept his eyes fixed on the flames.
“Cassian,” I said it louder this ti
