JEREMIAH HAD been beside Lily for hours, quiet, alert. His presence was steady, solid. It always had been, and yet tonight it felt different—he was no longer the silent shadow guarding her. He was a man who had to listen, who might be judged, who could be chosen.
“I need to know,” she said, voice low but deliberate. “If Cassian has leverage over you… if he could hurt me because of your past decisions, I need to know what that means.”
Jeremiah’s jaw tightened, a subtle tension running along the line of his neck. He didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he looked at the skyline, his expression unreadable. Then he finally met her eyes.
“I won’t lie. There are things I’ve done. Decisions I made—keeping you in my orbit, keeping you alive—those choices have a cost. And yes, if Cassian knows the
