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Zayren was still a shadow, fading into the night the moment the fight had ended. Alexandra stood frozen in the alley, her pulse still thundering in her ears. Her hands were shaking, not from fear, but from everything that had just happened-the danger, the raw violence, and the kiss that had left her head spinning.

She'd kissed him.

Zayren was right there. So close. But the man had pulled away just as quickly as he'd drawn near, retreating into the silence he wore like armor. And now, she was left alone in the dark, the words between them hanging heavy and unfinished.

"Together," he had said.

But what did that even mean?

Alexandra rubbed her hand across her face, pushing back the urge to collapse. She couldn't afford to fall apart now-not when there were more questions than answers. Not when the truth was still so far out of reach.

She needed to find him. She needed to know.

She didn't wait for another second.

The streets were quiet, the sounds of the city muffled by the growing darkness. But her footsteps echoed in the empty night as she searched for him, moving faster now, driven by something more than just the need for answers. Something that had been awakened by that kiss.

Her heart raced in a different way now, a mix of frustration and something else she didn't have a name for.

It didn't take long.

She found him in the same place he always seemed to be: a darkened corner of the street, the faintest hint of light catching the sharpness of his jaw. He didn't turn at first, and the silence stretched between them like a fragile thread, just waiting to snap.

"You left," she said, her voice rougher than she meant.

"I never promised to stay," he replied, his tone as cold as ever.

Zayren's gaze didn't meet hers, his attention fixed somewhere over her shoulder, distant and unreadable. He was shutting her out again.

Alexandra's fingers curled into fists at her sides. "You can't keep doing this, Zayren. You can't keep pulling me in and then shutting me out."

He was silent for a long moment, before his voice finally broke the stillness. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm trying to protect you."

Her breath hitched at his words. "By keeping secrets?"

"I'm not the one who should be protecting you."

Alexandra's chest tightened, but she didn't back down. "I don't need protecting. I need you to stop lying to me. I need you to tell me what the hell is going on."

His gaze flicked to hers then, but there was nothing warm in the way he looked at her. It was sharp. Calculating. Cold.

"It's not your fight," he said, his voice low, almost flat. "It never was."

"Then why are you here?" she demanded, stepping forward, forcing him to face her. "Why did you save me?"

Zayren's jaw tightened. "Because I don't have a choice."

"Stop. Lying," she spat, her voice growing steadier with each word. "You're not some hero, Zayren. You're not some mercenary out of the goodness of your heart. You don't get to hide behind that mask anymore. Not with me."

He exhaled sharply, frustration flickering in his eyes. "You don't understand what you're involved in. What you've been involved in."

"And you keep telling me that," she said, her voice steady now. "But you never explain. You never say anything. You just keep pushing me away."

Zayren finally stepped closer, his body close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of him, but there was still that impenetrable distance in his eyes.

"You're involved now, whether you like it or not." His voice was so quiet, so dangerous, it made her blood run cold. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to get tangled in this mess."

Alexandra's breath caught in her throat. "Tangled in what?"

His eyes flashed, like he was fighting something-some kind of war within himself. "In me."

The words hung in the air between them, and for a moment, the weight of them seemed to crush the space between them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zayren didn't answer right away. Instead, he just stared at her with that inscrutable look in his eyes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke, his words cold and clipped.

"You were never supposed to marry Aaron."

Her stomach dropped. That wasn't what she expected.

Her lips parted, but the words didn't come. She had known there was something wrong, but this?

"What do you mean?"

He looked away, as if the words were too much for him. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. None of it. You weren't supposed to be part of this. You were supposed to live your life, marry someone else. Someone... safe."

But it wasn't safe, was it? None of this had ever been safe.

"My father-" she began, but Zayren cut her off, his voice sharper than before.

"Your father did more than just push you into Aaron's arms, Alexandra." His eyes darkened, and he stepped closer again. "He's the reason you're even in this mess. And you don't even realize it."

The pieces were starting to come together, but she still didn't have all the answers. The pieces felt jagged, incomplete, like a puzzle she couldn't put together.

"Tell me," she demanded, her hands shaking with the force of her need to know. "What happened?"

Zayren didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned his gaze to the shadows beyond them.

"I didn't choose this," he muttered. "I didn't choose you. But now... now there's no way out."

Her pulse quickened. "You chose me when you saved me. When you kissed me. You can't tell me you didn't choose this."

He didn't flinch. "I didn't want to." His voice was so quiet, so low, she barely caught it. "But now I have to finish it."

Finish what?

She stepped closer, defiant. "You're not walking away from me this time. Whatever this is... whatever you're hiding... I'm not letting you go through it alone."

Zayren looked at her then, really looked at her, and for a moment, she saw something break-something that told her he was just as trapped as she was. But just as quickly, he pushed it away, retreating behind the coldness once more.

"Get some rest," he said, his voice unreadable. "Tomorrow, we'll finish this. Together."

She stood there for a long moment, watching him disappear back into the shadows. And though she hated the uncertainty, the absence of answers... she knew she wasn't leaving.

Not anymore.