The night air was heavy, still warm from the day, but threaded with something electric. As Liara sat alone in the quiet of the training hall, the weight of Kael's name still pressed against her chest like the pendant she wore—silent, burning, unforgettable.
When Aeron entered, she didn't look up.
He crossed the floor with quiet certainty and lowered himself beside her, his presence grounding but sharp, like a blade sheathed at her side.
"You were gone too long," he said, voice low. "I thought something had happened."
Liara exhaled. "Something did happen."
She turned to him, eyes shimmering in the low light. "I saw him again. Not in a dream. He was real this time."
Aeron's face darkened, but he said nothing. Not yet.
She went on, her voice threading between truth and confusion. "He said things I don't understand. He knows me. He… feels like he's always known me."
"And you trust him?" Aeron asked, eyes sharp.
"I don't know what I feel." She paused. "But it scared me. Because a part of me wants to trust him."
A moment passed.
Then Aeron leaned closer, his breath brushing her cheek. "And what about me, Liara? You don't have to wonder what I am."
Her eyes met his.
"I know what you are," she whispered.
Then his lips were on hers.
This kiss was nothing like the first—no hesitation, no question. It was all tension, all fire. His hand slid behind her neck, tilting her toward him with a hunger that had waited too long. She gasped into his mouth, and he deepened the kiss, pressing her back until she lay beneath him, her hands tangled in the fabric of his shirt.
She felt him everywhere—his breath against her throat, the heat of his palm at her waist, the barely restrained urgency in his touch. Every movement spoke of a man who had waited, who had held back—until now.
"Tell me to stop," he murmured, his lips brushing her jaw.
She didn't.
His mouth returned to hers, slower this time, savoring every inch. His hand slid beneath the hem of her tunic, calloused fingers grazing the bare skin of her hip. She arched against him, heart pounding, torn between the comfort he offered and the ache inside her that had nothing to do with logic.
She pulled him down again, kissing him like she needed to drown out every unanswered question, every haunting vision.
But when his fingers found the edge of her pendant, both of them paused.
The moment trembled.
He looked down at her, eyes searching. "You're still thinking about him."
Her throat tightened.
"I'm trying not to."
Aeron rested his forehead to hers, breathing hard. "I want you, Liara. Not just like this. I want all of you."
She closed her eyes, her hand over the pendant between them. "I don't know if I can give that yet."
His lips brushed hers again, softer now.
"Then I'll wait," he said.