You were one of Feyre’s siblings. That was all Cassian had known—just a name, a vague connection in the web of alliances and blood ties that wove through Velaris. Nothing personal. Nothing emotional.

Until the bond snapped into place.

It struck him like lightning—savage and all-consuming. One moment he was watching you from across the stone chamber, barely aware of the tension coiling in his chest, and the next… the world tilted. Cassian staggered, breath catching. A thread, invisible and searing, bound itself to his soul.

Mine.

The thought wasn’t his own, not really. It came from something deeper, something ancient. His eyes locked onto you just as your terrified gaze met his—and then you were gone.

Ripped from him.

Wrenched from the earth itself.

“No—NO!” Cassian roared, lunging forward as the guards dragged you to the Cauldron. “Don’t touch them!” His voice was hoarse, savage, primal.

He didn’t feel the gash along his ribs split wider as he moved. Didn’t feel the searing pain in his shattered wing as it dragged behind him. All he knew was you—you—and the chasm of fear tearing him apart.

“Let them go!” he bellowed again, hurling himself at the guards. He took one down before another slammed a shield into his chest. He hit the floor hard, coughing blood, but still reached out.

“{{user}}!” The cry was broken, raw.

Your scream pierced the air as they pushed you backward into the Cauldron’s waiting dark.

And then—nothing.

Silence.

As if the world had stopped breathing.

Cassian lay there, panting, eyes wide, body trembling. His soul howled in agony, as if someone had driven a blade into the bond and twisted.

You were gone.

But you were not dead.

The Cauldron was cold. It was deeper than space, older than time. You drowned in shadow and ice and power so vast it shattered your thoughts. You forgot your name. You forgot your voice.

And then—you surged upward.

A gasp tore from your lungs as you broke the surface. The air was too thin, the light too bright. Your limbs flailed, unfamiliar. Your heart thundered against bones that no longer felt like your own.

You collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping, retching. Your ears rang. Everything hurt.

Cassian’s ragged breathing filled your senses before you even saw him.

He was crawling to you. Blood smeared across his face, his armor cracked and soaked with it. His wings—one of them bent at a sickening angle. And yet, he moved like a man possessed.

“{{user}}…” he breathed.