We knew the golden figure would return.
It was only a matter of when.
So we prepared like we were already dead.
We burned the last books in the Vault—to keep them from the Conclave. We restructured the tower defenses. We wrote letters, made recordings, whispered secrets into sealed jars.
And we waited.
Lilith kissed me that night. For real. No teasing. No tension. Just... truth.
"I was never meant to love," she said.
"You did anyway."
She smiled.
And that was enough.