Chapter 20: Boundaries in Moonlight
Leia didn’t flinch.
She reached forward—
And clasped Cassian’s hand.
The chain between them surged with light—no longer silver, but white-gold. It twisted once, then seared into both of their chests, forming a mirrored sigil like a star folded in flame.
Then…
It vanished.
The wind calmed.
The Rift stopped howling.
And the curse—
Fell silent inside her.
---
Cassian staggered. His knees hit the snow.
Leia caught him before he could fall further. “Cassian—”
His skin was pale, his heartbeat slower. The Alpha energy that once flared under his touch was gone.
He smiled faintly. “Still breathing.”
Leia pressed a hand to her chest. The rune there was warm, not burning. Quiet.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Awake,” she whispered.
They knelt together beneath the moonlight, neither speaking for a long time.
At last, she said, “I can control it. It’s not gone—but it listens now.”
“And me?”
“You’re still an idiot.”
He grinned. “But yours.”