Chapter 10 Under the Moonlight (Cassian's POV)

I caught him just in time.

One second later and the patrol unit would've had him in chains.

His hoodie rustled under my grip as I yanked him into the dark behind the maintenance shed.

His breath hitched, sharp and ragged against my neck. I slammed a hand over his mouth before he could say anything.

"Don't move," I whispered.

The patrols rushed past us, boots pounding against the pavement, voices barking into radios. My heart beat hard against his back. He was warm, but shaking.

I had to resist the urge to pull him closer and wrap my arms around his body.

Fuck, I need to control my thoughts.

Val.

What the hell are you doing?

I waited, barely breathing, until the noise faded. Only then did I lower my hand.

He spun, eyes wide, face pale under the moonlight.

"You-Cassian, what are you-?"

I cut him off. "You almost got caught."

He glanced over his shoulder, chest heaving. "I-I had it under control."

I scoffed. "Sure. Running straight into a double patrol was part of the plan?"

He didn't answer. Just stared at the ground, jaw clenched. I watched him. Really watched him.

There was something off. His scent was different. Covered. Not just sweat or fear-something darker, bitter.

And her eyes. Tired. Dull. Shadows under them like she hadn't slept in a while.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

He didn't speak.

I stepped closer. "Val."

He flinched at his name.

Damn it.

"You think they won't notice tomorrow?" I said. "Full inspection. You'll be scanned, searched-"

"I know," he snapped, eyes flashing.

"Then why risk this?" I asked. "Why sneak out now? What did you get?"

He shifted, one hand slipping into his hoodie pocket as he stepped back.

I grabbed his wrist before he could pull away fully.

"Don't," I said. "Not unless you want another set of boots coming down the hall."

He yanked his arm back, jaw tight. "You don't get to ask me questions."

"Too bad," I said. "Because I am."

He took a step back, then another. Like space would help him think straight.

But I closed the distance just as fast.

"I saved your ass," I said. "You owe me at least one answer."

He hesitated. Then, "I needed air."

"That's not air you're hiding in your pocket."

His fingers curled tighter around it.

I shook my head. "Val, what are you using?"

"Don't-"

"What. Are. You. Using?"

He bit his lip, making me stare at his mouth before I saw the way his eyes moved past me. Like he was determined to anywhere but my face.

Wolfsbane. It hit me all at once.

That sharp, bitter scent. I'd smelled it before. She had a full stark when she came here but not knowing she really did with it, I took them away.

"You're suppressing," I said, voice low.

He didn't deny it. My stomach dropped.

"How long?" I asked.

"Cassian-"

"How long have you been taking it?"

He didn't speak.

I closed my eyes, exhaled, then looked at him again. "You know what wolfsbane does to people like us?"

His hands shook now. "I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"No, there's not!" he snapped, stepping forward. "There's so much you don't know. So keep your lectures to yourself. I have a class tomorrow."

"I do know," I said. "But I don't hide behind poison."

He laughed-bitter and broken. "Easy to say when you were born in. When you're one of them."

I stared at him, and for a second I saw it. The fear. The weight of whatever he was carrying. Not just about being found out-but about being seen.

Val wasn't just hiding from the academy.

He was hiding from himself. I could tell from the way his eyes widened after his outburst.

I softened just a little.

"You don't have to do this alone," I said.

He looked up at me, startled.

"I'm serious," I added. "Whatever this is-whatever you're afraid of-I can help."

He shook his head. "You can't."

"Try me."

"Cassian-"

"Try me."

We stood there under the cover of the dark, everything between us tight and hot and unspoken.

He dropped his gaze. "All I can tell you is that I'm trying to keep my place in this academy."

"Then let me help you."

"Why?" he asked, voice cracking. "Why would you do that?"

My throat tightened.

Because you're more than this secret. Because every time you walk into a room, I can't stop watching you.

Because you bleed and fight and don't give up, and I can't pretend I don't care anymore. And I want to know what you are hiding.

But I didn't say any of that.

I just said, "Because I'm curious."

He blinked. Hard. His lip trembled for half a second before he turned away.

"You shouldn't care," hhe whispered.

"Too late."

We stood in silence. The night air wrapped around us, colder now. Softer. And for a second, it felt like we were the only two people in this godforsaken academy.

I stepped beside him. Close enough to feel his breath.

"Let's get back to our room."

He hesitated, then nodded once.

We moved in sync-quick, quiet, slipping between corridors and walls like ghosts. I kept him close, shoulder brushing his, watching every corner. Every tiny movement.

Halfway there, he said, "Thanks."

I looked at him. "Don't thank me yet."

We reached the back entrance to the dorms. I opened the door for him, and he paused just inside the threshold.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said.

"You didn't scare me."

He gave a half-smile. "Liar."

"I was pissed," I corrected. "There's a difference."

He laughed. Short. Soft. The kind of laugh that hit right in my chest.

But it faded just as fast.

He stepped back about to head to the bathroom, his hoodie slipping off his head.

I caught his wrist before he turned, remembering what the headmaster had told me earlier.

"You can lie to them," I said quietly. "To the school council. To the patrols. Even the other students."

His breath hitched.

"But next time you lie to me-"

I leaned in, my lips almost brushing his ear.

"I'll know."