The hallway was quiet save for the echo of Dryanden's heavy boots against the stone floor. Rowen followed him, her steps quicker, sharper, driven by a mix of anger and confusion.
"Dryanden," she called, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "Stop."
He didn't.
"Dryanden!" she said again, louder this time. He didn't slow, so she surged forward, grabbing his arm. Finally he stopped, and turned to face her.
"What just happened?" she demanded. "You practically exploded."
Dryanden's jaw tightened. He pulled his arm free, and stepped back. The force of his gaze was enough to make her heart skip painfully, but she refused to back down. "It doesn't matter."
"The hell it doesn't!" Rowen snapped, stepping closer. "This mission clearly means something to you. Or maybe it's Thalor. Either way, I deserve to know."
His lips pressed into a thin line, the tension in his shoulders coiling tighter. "It's not your concern."
"Not my concern?" She let out a disbelieving laugh. "I'm bonded to you, remember? Whatever affects you affects me. And right now, you're spiraling."
"I'm not spiraling," Dryanden bit out, his voice low but sharp. "I'm handling it."
"No, you're not," Rowen shot back. "You're running."
Her words hit their mark. Dryanden flinched, a crack forming in his carefully constructed mask.
"You couldn't possibly understand." he said, his voice quieter.
"Then help me," Rowen said, her tone shifting to something softer, pleading. "Tell me why this mission terrifies you. Tell me why Thalor makes you shut down like this."
Dryanden's expression darkened, his hands curling into fists at his sides. Rowen pressed, her voice rising. "What are you so afraid of facing?"
His control snapped. "Losing you!" The words echoed through the hallway, raw and unguarded. "I won't watch someone else die because of me."
Rowen's heart twisted painfully. She took a tentative step closer, her voice quieter now. "Dryanden… what happened?"
He said nothing, and turned swiftly, crossing the hallway to their chamber door. He threw it open with a force that made Rowen flinch, the sound reverberating off the stone walls. He stalked inside, his steps heavy, and stopped by the balcony, gripping the railing so tightly that the veins in his hands stood out.
Rowen hesitated in the doorway, the tension in the room thick enough to choke on. He was always intense, but this—this was something else. Something barely contained.
She shut the door gently behind her and crossed her arms. "You don't get to act like this. I deserve to know why you lost it in there—and why you're acting like you'd rather tear this place apart than deal with whatever this is."
Dryanden took a step toward her, his presence suffocating in its intensity. The air seemed to thrum with the force of his anger. "You want answers?" he asked, his voice low but sharp. "Fine. Don't expect to like what you hear." He turned away, running a hand through his hair. "This mission is already a mistake," he muttered, pacing the length of the room.
"Why? Because Thalor's involved?" she pressed, stepping forward. "What's so bad about working with him?"
Dryanden froze mid-step, his back to her. "You don't know him."
"Then tell me," she said, frustration edging her tone. "Selene clearly trusts him enough to include him in the mission. So what's the problem?"
He turned back to her, his movements sharp, his eyes blazing. "The problem," he said, his voice rising, "is that Thalor doesn't care about trust. Or loyalty. Or anything but himself."
Rowen blinked, taken aback by the venom in his tone. "And you know that because…?"
"Because I know him," Dryanden snapped, his voice like a whip. He closed the distance between them with a few purposeful strides. "I know what he's capable of. I know what he's done. And I know he can't be trusted."
"If that's true, why didn't you say so in there? Why not tell Selene what he's done?" Rowen asked p, refusing to backdown under his gaze.
Dryanden's expression darkened, his jaw working as if he were physically holding back the words. "Because she knows and it doesn't matter. She's already made her decision. She always does."
Rowen frowned, her confusion deepening. Dryanden stepped back, running a hand through his hair again. He looked as though he were trying to steady himself, but the anger in his posture didn't fade.
"I don't understand then, and all I can see is you shutting me out when we're supposed to be in this together."
Dryanden laughed bitterly, the sound hollow. "Fine." he repeated, his voice hardening. "The truth is that Thalor is a liability. He's a distraction. And he'll get us killed."
"Why?" she demanded, stepping closer. "What did he do that's so unforgivable?"
Dryanden stiffened, his jaw clenching tightly. "The details don't matter."
"Yes, they do!" she yelled, her frustration boiling over. "Because whatever he did, it's clearly still controlling you. And if you can't let it go, then—"
"Don't," Dryanden interrupted, his voice deadly quiet. He turned to her fully, and the look in his eyes made her heart stutter. "Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't let go."
Rowen hesitated, her anger warring with the sudden urge to take a step back. But she held her ground. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do," she said, her voice softer now. "I'm just trying to understand. Whatever this is between you and Thalor, it's bigger than just you. It's affecting all of us."
For a moment, Dryanden didn't move. Then, slowly, his expression shifted, the anger in his eyes giving way to something raw and unguarded. "It's not just about me," he said quietly. "It's about what he cost me. What I lost because of him."
Rowen's breath caught, her chest tightening at the pain in his voice. "What did you lose?"
Dryanden looked away, his shoulders sagging as the fight seemed to drain out of him. Rowen hesitated, her frustration tempered by the raw pain in his eyes. She stepped closer, careful not to break whatever fragile thread of control he was clinging to. "Dryanden," she said softly. "You can't keep carrying this alone. You keep shutting me out, and all it's doing is tearing you apart."
He laughed, a bitter, hollow sound that sent a shiver down her spine. "Tearing me apart is nothing new," he muttered, his voice rough. "I've been broken long before you came into this."
Rowen flinched at the self-loathing in his words but refused to back down. "You're not broken, Dryanden." she said firmly. "You're just… hurt."
He finally looked up, his crimson eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Hurt doesn't cover it," he said quietly. "Hurt doesn't even come close."
Rowen swallowed hard, her heart aching at the vulnerability etched into his features. "Then tell me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Who did you lose?"
For a moment, she thought he wouldn't answer. But then he spoke, his words slow and deliberate, as if each one was being dragged from the depths of his soul.
"My sister," he said, the weight of the confession settling between them raw and heavy. "Annaphria."
Rowen's breath caught, the enormity of his words sinking in. "Your… sister?" she repeated, her voice shaky.
He nodded, his expression darkening as he straightened. "She was everything. My best friend. My compass. My anchor. She trusted me," Dryanden continued, his voice cracking slightly.
"What happened?" Rowen asked gently.
Dryanden's gaze turned distant, his jaw tightening. "She got caught in the crossfire. And Thalor…" His voice faltered, his fists clenching at his sides. "He was supposed to protect her. He promised me he would."
Rowen's chest tightened, the pieces of his anger and guilt falling into place. "And he didn't," she guessed.
"No," Dryanden said bitterly. "He didn't."
Rowen hesitated, unsure if she should press further. But the anguish in his voice pushed her to try. "Do you think he meant to…?"
"I don't know," Dryanden interrupted, his tone sharp. "And I don't care. Intent doesn't bring her back."
The silence that followed was heavy and oppressive. Rowen felt the weight of his grief as though it were her own, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry," she said finally, her voice trembling. "I can't imagine how painful that must be."
Dryanden's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Losing her—it wasn't just losing someone you love. She believed in me when no one else did. And I failed her."
"You didn't fail her," Rowen said firmly, stepping closer. "You trusted someone who let you down. That's not the same thing."
He laughed again, bitter and sharp. "Trusting Thalor was the failure. If I'd been there—if I hadn't let him convince me—she might still be alive."
Rowen felt her chest tighten, her own emotions swirling in the face of his anguish. "You can't carry that kind of guilt forever, Dryanden. It'll destroy you."
"Maybe I deserve to be destroyed," he said quietly, his gaze dropping to the floor.
"Don't say that," she said, her voice cracking. She reached out, hesitating only a moment before resting a hand on his arm. "You don't deserve that. I may not understand your pain, but I do know what it's like to feel lost. To feel like you're not enough. And I know that shutting people out doesn't help. It just makes it worse."
He didn't respond immediately, his gaze flicking to her hand on his arm. "You're stubborn, you know that?"
She smiled faintly, though her heart still ached for him. "I've been told."
Dryanden huffed a quiet laugh, but it lacked humor. "You shouldn't have to deal with this," he said, his voice soft. "This isn't your burden to bear."
Rowen tightened her grip on his arm, her voice firm. "We're bonded, Dryanden. Your burdens are mine now, that's what you told me. And I'm not going anywhere."
His expression shifted, a flicker of something—gratitude, perhaps—crossing his face. He nodded slowly, but then his voice dropped, almost too quiet to hear.
"I loved him," he confessed, the words breaking free like a dam bursting. "I trusted him. More than I've ever trusted anyone. And we were…" He faltered, his hand curling into a fist against the railing. "He used it against me, and then let the person I loved the most die."
Rowen's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding. "Dryanden…"
He shook his head sharply, cutting her off. "Thalor always gets what he wants. He found a way to sever the bond, to destroy what we had for his own gain…" His voice trailed off, his jaw tightening. "
The room fell into silence, the weight of his confession pressing down on both of them like a physical force.
Thalor severed the bond? So they were bonded like he and I? Rowen wanted to ask more, to push for answers, but the rawness in his voice held her back.
Instead, she stepped closer, her hand still resting on his arm. "You're not alone in this," she said softly. "Not anymore."
Dryanden didn't look at her. "That's what I'm afraid of," he murmured.
And for the first time since they'd met, Rowen realized just how much he was carrying—and how desperately he needed someone to share the weight.