CasSandra

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Fragile Dawn

*Cassie's POV*

I woke to sunlight.

Not the fractured light of the Hollow House or the burning skies of old battles. But the simple warmth of morning. Soft gold spilled across the sheets, painting the room in the kind of serenity I once thought was a myth.

Beside me, she stirred.

Serael. Sandra. My Sandra.

Her silver hair spilled across the pillow, catching the light in strands that shimmered like spun glass. She was breathing evenly. Her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of someone who had never carried the weight of centuries, never kept watch over broken timelines. Never drowned herself in duty. For a moment, I let myself believe she was only human...just a woman. Fragile and unburdened.

And me?

I raised my hand to my back out of instinct, to where wings once unfurled. Vast. Terrible. And beautiful. Yet, there was nothing. Only skin. Only emptiness. The absence pulsed like a phantom limb. A ghost of who I was.

I should have mourned. But instead, I felt relief. I had given it all up. Every shard of divinity. Every power. Every burden. And for what?

For her. For us.

"...Cerys..." Her voice was groggy. A murmur that wrapped itself around me like a tether. She turned onto her side, eyes half-lidded. Soft and human. "You're awake already?"

"Yes," I whispered, brushing a stray lock of silver from her cheek. "I didn't want to miss this."

She smiled, though it carried no memory of our old lives. No flicker of the Angel of Memory she once was. To her, I was only Cerys, and she was only Serael. No Hollow House. No Echo Judge. No fracture of time. Just us. In a house that felt too new, too polished to be real.

We cooked breakfast together that morning. Her humming off-key as she sliced fruit, and I pretended not to notice I had nearly forgotten how to crack an egg. The kitchen was bright. All sleek lines and shining counters. The kind of place that didn't belong to either of our pasts. She laughed when I burned the toast.

It should have been enough. It should have been everything. But even as I watched her laugh, even as I let my hands rest at her waist, anchoring her to me, I felt it. The edges of something unfinished.

When I passed the mirror in the hallway, my reflection lingered a second too long. When the clock struck the hour, I swore its hands moved backward before catching themselves. And sometimes, when Serael's laughter trailed off, I thought I heard another voice in the silence...

"Did you think it would end here?"

That night, she fell asleep in my arms. I lay awake, memorizing her face. The gentle curve of her lips. The warmth of her skin pressed against mine. I should have rested. I should have let the peace lull me into believing this was forever.

But the house flickered.

Just for a breath, the walls warped. The air shivered. And I could smell saltwater. I could hear waves crashing against impossible shores. Then it was gone. Leaving me trembling in the dark.

I tightened my hold on her hand. Her fingers curled against mine instinctively, seeking warmth. I pressed my lips on her temple, and whispered into the quiet...

"If the world dares to take you from me again, I'll choose you. Always."

The words steadied me. Anchored me. Even as the shadows stirred. Even as the cracks whispered of return, I knew my vow was unbreakable.

I had given up eternity for her. And if I had to, I would give up a thousand more eternities.

To be continued...