The atmosphere was grim. No one had said as much, but Elena could taste it in the air — something bitter coating her tongue, settling heavy in her chest. Everything felt wrong in a way that resisted language.

She turned her head to Kai, standing rigid beside her.

"Are you okay?"

He gritted his teeth.

"I'm not the one you should be concerned about… are we just going to let him keep doing this?"

Elena's gaze lowered. She remembered her brief encounter with Cade — the look in his eyes, the pain, the plea to be understood. And then the wall that had slammed down after.

Maybe she'd come about it the wrong way. But who wouldn't have? Men and women… their bodies had littered the plaza, and every piece of evidence pointed to him.

He killed people. He'd killed hundreds of people, all for one person the church had passed judgment upon.

And he hadn't stopped there. He was killing more.

Even after meeting him, Elena hadn't totally given up. Cade had to answer for his crimes — that much was imperative — but unlike everyone else who'd turned on him completely, she believed he deserved to speak his own side. Why he'd tried to kill Kai? Why he'd killed Kael? Why he'd killed all those people?

Elena didn't believe Cade was just some unhinged killer finally letting out his dark fantasies now that they were in a world where power meant everything and violence was truly permitted.

At least, that was what the others were making it look like.

They weren't giving him any credit for his strength despite being F rank. They weren't asking the right questions. All they seemed concerned about was making him into something worse than they were.

It was sickening.

'Especially that Derek.'

Derek had become a force unto himself, building his entire reputation on hatred of Cade. He'd been pulling out moments from school where Cade would ignore everyone, saying insensitive things like Cade was the cause of his own mother's death, that he was hated in his family.

The venom ran too deep for simple bullying. Elena had never kept tabs on people before — she hadn't even known which families Cade or Derek came from — but now she found herself genuinely curious.

Because all of this was just so unfair.

But it wasn't like Cade could be defended either. He'd killed mothers, fathers, children. Enjoyed their screams, according to the witnesses.

'Perhaps I don't know him at all. Perhaps I'm just projecting my hope onto him.'

Maybe he really was as bad as the rumors said. As bad as their classmates believed.

"Why are you thinking so hard about it?" Kai's voice cut through her thoughts. "Are you in love with him?"

Elena frowned. "What? No. I should be asking you, actually — why do you hate him so much? You claim he tried to kill you, and yet you won't say why."

Kai lifted his gaze, a strange small smile playing at his lips.

"So let me guess. You're thinking… I beat myself up and tried to frame him?"

Elena's frown deepened, her accent sharpening her words.

"Well, for all we know, you could have also tried to kill him. The church could have sent you to do it."

She hadn't voiced this objection earlier — doing so would have revealed that Cade had already told her something different. That was part of why she felt so angry now. There was a chance he'd been playing her from the start.

She had to protect herself from his potential lies. And from the church's.

The church had been good so far. Just, in all the ways that mattered.

But nobody was perfect. Even if the institution itself was perfect, imperfect people ran it. And with the way Cade had described how differently they'd treated him compared to the rest of them, she had plenty of reasons for suspicion.

Kai sat at the center of that suspicion.

"Yes." Kai's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I went to kill a useless, weak nobody — the same one I staked my own head for just to give him a chance to live. Makes so much sense."

He turned to face her fully, his expression darkening.

"Why bother saving him if I was ever going to kill him?"

Elena shrugged, her tone light and cutting. "You tell me. Hero."

Kai shot her a fierce look, then turned away and shook his head.

"You are clueless." He scoffed. "You think if I truly wanted to kill Cade, I would've ended up that battered? The only reason he got the best of me was because he attacked me with his summon. Shamelessly. That bastard."

Elena let a smile ghost across her face, her eyes closing briefly.

"I don't think you'd have survived if she took you seriously. Maybe you're only alive because Cade wanted you to be."

Kai turned back to her, teeth grinding behind pressed lips.

"You—"

Elena cocked her head, waiting for whatever word hovered on his tongue, her gaze cold and dangerous.

But Kai swallowed it back.

At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps drew her attention. A troop of Paladins was making its way toward the cathedral compound.

This had been the main reason she and Kai were stationed at the door today — to welcome another Cardinal visiting the church in Aetheris. Cardinal Theresa hadn't seemed fond of this particular guest, but she remained poised to fulfill her duty regardless.

'She's been looking stressed lately… I wonder how I can help. Maybe if I talk to her, she'll be able to understand Cade from my perspective.'

Cardinal Theresa had proven herself to be genuinely kind. She'd taken an interest in Elena, told her to come by whenever she needed something.

Elena had been reluctant to use that privilege. She'd grown up in an environment that had taught her to stand on her own from a very young age — to never depend on others for what she could handle herself.

She straightened her posture and fixed her gaze forward as the parade of visitors approached the cathedral entrance, the sounds of footsteps, rolling wheels, and clinking metal filling the morning air.

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