“I called it necessary.”
“That was before I became the one who had to decide.”
Somewhere below, the first chant began. The Order was moving without him. Dilemma of Devotion -Ch.2 Ep 4.5- By PulseHaven...
“The Order requires total devotion,” he said, each word a rehearsed blade. “You knew this when you took your vows.”
“Then stop looking for an option,” she whispered. “And start looking at me. Not as a soldier. Not as a liability. As the person who knows you cried for three days after your first kill. Who knows you hum off-key when you’re scared. Who knows that you’re not a monster, Kaelen—you’re just a man who’s been told so many lies he’s started believing them.” “I called it necessary
“Mira,” he said. Not a plea. Not a command. Just her name, spoken like a prayer he’d forgotten he believed in.
Kaelen opened his eyes.
His hands trembled as they rose to cover hers. “If I don’t do this…”