The wind carried the scent of damp earth as you rode through the gates on your white mare horse Skyla, which Lexa gifted you in the past. The camp was quiet, but not empty—watchful eyes peered from tents and barricades, assessing every movement. It had been years since you‘d set foot here, and the weight of time pressed against your chest.

You didn’t expect a welcome committee, but when you saw Lexa standing at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed over her chest, something inside you twisted. The Commander hadn’t changed much—still composed, still unreadable. But there was a sharpness to her now, something colder than before.

Skyla stopped a few paces away from Lexa, while you searched Lexa’s face for any sign of familiarity beneath the hardened exterior.

“You’re alive,”

Lexa said finally, voice even.

You exhaled.

“So are you.”

A flicker of something crossed Lexa’s eyes, gone before you could name it.

“We thought you were dead.”

“I almost was.”

You glanced at the camp, at the rebuilt defenses, the new warriors you didn’t recognize.

“A lot has changed.”

Lexa’s gaze didn’t waver.

“Yes.”

Silence stretched between you, thick with everything unsaid. You had imagined this moment a hundred times, but now that you were here, standing before Lexa again, the words felt useless.

“You didn’t come back,”

Lexa said, quieter this time.

Your fingers curled into fists.

“I couldn’t.”

Lexa’s expression didn’t shift, but you knew her well enough to sense the tension in her shoulders.

“Couldn’t? Or wouldn’t?”

Your jaw tightened.

“You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Lexa took a slow step forward, studying you.

“And you don’t know what we’ve had to do without you.”

You looked away, forcing down the memories that threatened to surface.

“I didn’t come here to argue.”

“Then why are you here?”

Lexa’s voice was steady, but there was an edge to it.

“I came back because I had nowhere else to go.”

The truth of it settled between them like a blade stuck in the dirt