Darius's POV
The air inside the tent felt dense, as though the canvas walls had swallowed every scream, every sob, every drop of blood shed inside them. Seraphine remained pressed against the central stake, gasping for breath, her trembling fingers still clutching at the fabric as if she could claw herself out of the world. Her eyes flicked wildly—first to Cassian, then inevitably back to me. They lingered on me longest. And in them burned the terror I had carved into her with my own hand.
Cassian crouched a little to her side, careful not to loom over her. His palms were open—gentle, steady.
“Sera… you’re safe,” he murmured. Each word struck like a tether hammered into the ground. “No one is going to hurt you. Short breath in… long breath out. Watch me.”
His chest rose and fell in slo
