Jason boarded the train alongside Cecilia, hardly aware that he was even walking. He knew his legs were pushing him forward, but a part of him wondered if Cecilia had just spelled his legs to make him move. Even her voice sounded far away, even though she was a mere foot from him.

Taking his seat on the train, he stared out the window. Jason used to love riding the train, staring down at the beautiful cities beneath him, especially during the four Silmarine months, when everything was coated in a layer of snow. He loved how beautiful the snow looked when sunlight and moonlight bounced off it. But at that moment, he felt like he was falling.

Jason propped his feet on the chair facing, soon feeling a kick in his shin.

“What? Oh, sorry, were you talking?”

Cecilia gave him her most petulant gaze. “I asked if you had decided what you were going to do.”

Jason shook his head. “While Selene was gone, I thought about Miranda and being with her, what our life would be like, and I liked the idea. Now, Selene has returned, and all I think about is her. When I first saw her again, all I wanted to do was kiss her and hold her, and restraining myself from doing so was so hard, I felt like I was tearing out my own heart. Miranda has become a distant memory. I can’t marry her, I won’t repeat Pietro’s mistake.”

“Are you admitting it then?” she asked, a sparkle in her eyes reflecting her grin.

Jason groaned. “Yes, Cecilia, I love Selene.”

“Well it’s about damn time.” The voice was chilling, yet it held no malice. Jason watched as Ettore slipped from the shadows and materialized in the seat in front of Cecilia. She kicked him, her lips pursed in a frown.

“Can you not do that, you know, pop out like that! You scare me half to death every time you do.”

“Oops, so sorry, Cecilia,” he said, grinning.

“Oh, you are so not sorry.”

Ettore laughed briefly, his eyes falling deadly on Jason. “So that’s why you were acting weird earlier. You made Selene worry.”

“You can’t tell her,” pleaded Jason.

“I won’t because I know you will…provided you don’t screw up and ask Kath—oops, I mean Miranda, to marry you.” Jason glared at Ettore, wishing he could punch that smug grin off his face. “I’ll be going now.” His body slithered in a hundred different directions, slinking back to rejoin the dark shadows among the train.

“So,” began Cecilia, clearing her throat, “you’ll be riding until the end?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I have to connect in the next city to catch the train at Wingsong Tower. Heading west, remember?”

“Lucky you, I have to ride this one all the way there.”

“Well, at least you’ll have time to think about what you’re going to tell Miranda and your mother.”

“Yeah, lucky me.” He sat there, leaning his head against the window, watching the city beneath him turn into a blue and meld with the sky at the horizon.