Page 51 of Heart of the Rebel Mate

Again.

The repetition dulls everything else. Each strike is a tether, something tangible in a sea of uncertainty. The Council had been watching me long before I started this fight. Not because of my defiance, but because of him. My father. A rebel hidden in plain sight.

The thought makes my grip tighten. My next strike lands hard, sending a sharp vibration up my arm.

"Elara."

The voice slides through the dimly lit room like a bullet.

I still, heart hammering against my ribs. I recognize the voice before I turn.

Cassian.

He stands near the entrance. From what I can see, his dark tunic is slightly rumpled and although he's assumed a deceptively relaxed stance, there's a tension in his shoulders, a careful control in the way he holds himself.

I lower my sword. "You're following me now?"

A humorless smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "You're not easy to find when you don't want to be."

I rest the blade against my shoulder. "Then maybe take the hint."

Cassian steps further inside, his boots near silent against the wooden floor. "I don't think I will."

The words settle between us, weighty in their simplicity.

I exhale, tilting my head back slightly. "Let me guess. This is about Adrian."

His jaw tightens, just enough to confirm it.

"You've been different," he says, voice low but sharp. "You don't even see it, do you?"

I give him a flat look. "Spare me the lecture, Cassian."

He huffs a quiet laugh, but there's no amusement in it. "You think this is about control? About me being jealous?" His gaze darkens. "You and I were something once. And now, you look at him the way you used to look at me."

A wave crashes through my chest. Is it guilt that Cassian might be right after all, or frustration at having to revisit this matter in the training room of all places– a space I picked to help me get rid of my frustration? I shove it down.

"That was a long time ago."

Cassian shakes his head, taking another step forward. "It doesn't just disappear, Elara. Not for me." His voice dips lower, roughened by desperation. "I see the way you let him in. The way youtrusthim."

I cross my arms and dig my fingers into my skin, just a bit. "That's not your concern anymore."

His eyes flash. "It should be. You're walking into something dangerous, and you know it."

I bite back the instinctive retort that rises, forcing my tone to stay even. "I can take care of myself."

Cassian watches me for a long moment. I expect him to burst into laughter and reassure me this was all a joke and be on his merry way, but, if anything, the opposite happens. Too fast that I do not see it coming or even have time to react, he closes the distance between us.

He lifts his hands slowly, but doesn't touch me. He stops a breath away from my cheek in hesitation.

"Elara," he says, softer now.

His voice tugs at a feeling deep inside me, something buried under years of loyalty and loss.

I hate that he still has this effect on me.

Cassian moves before I can react. His fingers brush my jaw, barely there, and then—his lips ghost toward mine.

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