Cassian did not know when these words flowed out of his mouth. He had no inkling of what he was even saying. But the aching sensation in his chest was a constant reminder of the truth: he was not dreaming. That this was reality, and the man in front of him was real, and his pain was real too.
The anguish in the man's words and the sorrow in his eyes, which seemed to carry the weight of countless lives, were as transparent as a sheet of glass. Every plea and word from him pierced the very core of Cassian. Even though Cassian knew he had done nothing to deserve this, he found himself consumed by guilt.
The words escaped him before he could even grasp their meaning, as if he had been yearning to utter them for a longer time....even far longer than his own life.
