And just like that, the wraith is gone.

I slowly walk back to Thea's side.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I..." I swallow. How do I explain to her that I cannot give this up for anything in the world? That getting my husband back is the only thing that drives me forward. Without him... Without hope... I'm nothing.

"No. You don't have anything to be sorry for, Luce. It's not your mess. It's mine." She takes a deep breath. "I made my bed, now I need to sleep in it."

"I don't think he'll reveal your secret. If that was his intention, he would already have."

She forces a smile. "For now. He's too unpredictable. He has his interests, and if it's in his interest to reveal everything... I have no doubt he will."

"What can I do?" Cer asks, his voice tinged with worry. "Tell me what I can do to help, Thea. I can k⁠—"

"Do not say it," she blurts out in a panic. "You know it is treason. And that is far worse than any death."

"I do not know how to help you if you will not tell me what he has on you." He sighs.

"It is my cross to bear, Cer. But I appreciate your offer," she says with a smile. "Maybe at some point in time..." She shakes her head.

"I'll always be there for you," he murmurs, and suddenly I feel as if I'm intruding on an intimate moment between the two. "Regardless of whether I am in the game or not."

Thea sighs as she lays her back against the kitchen counter. "Now that we know the trial will be held in Aperion, I'm even happier you forfeited. You cannot get caught, Cer," she murmurs.

"I would have been careful." He purses his lips. "We have not been caught so far. It is not hard to blend in as long as we do not use our abilities."

"I won't risk it." She shakes her head, reaching out to take his hand.

"You are that worried about me?" he inquires softly. "So much so that you would use your precious boon?"

A light smile appears on her face as she squeezes his hand.

"You protect me, I protect you. That's how it will always be."

They stare at each other in silence for a moment before Thea clears her throat.

"At least Ze had the decency to leave, too. I didn't think he'd ever do that of his own volition," she mentions drily.

"I was surprised about that, too." I sigh. In a way, I'm happy he won't be around since I already decided that I didn't want to be around him. At the same time, I'm still a little disappointed. "Do you think we'll manage by ourselves?" I ask, a little scared by the upcoming game. And to top that off, we don't even know what it will entail.