Naomi’s Pov

The end didn’t arrive with ceremony.

No speeches. No applause. No moment where someone declared it finished and meant it. It ended the way most real things do quietly, with the understanding that whatever had been holding everything together had finally let go.

I felt it when I woke up and didn’t reach for my phone first.

That alone told me something had changed.

Cassian was already up, standing by the window with a mug in his hand, staring out at the city like he was memorizing it. Not planning. Not scanning. Just looking.

“You didn’t wake me,” I said.

He glanced over his shoulder. “You needed the...