Sejanus stumbled as they plunged deeper into the woods, branches clawing at his sleeves while the noose burn around his neck throbbed with every breath.

He should have been dead. The crowd, the platform, the rope—he could still hear it. Yet somehow, this stranger had cut him free and dragged him from the Capitol's grasp. His lungs burned, but he kept pace.

"Why?" he finally asked, voice rough. "You risked everything for someone you don't even know."

He glanced back toward the distant lights, then forward again. Despite the fear gnawing at him, hope flickered stubbornly in his chest as the forest swallowed them whole.