It was just before sunrise.
Lucius stood outside the tent, watching the horizon bleed orange across the hills.
The camp was silent, but the air wasn't still.
He felt it.
The weight.
The pull of the past pressing against the present like a second heartbeat.
They were all awake.
And they all came to him.
One by one.
---
Claire sat first.
Hair still messy from sleep. Eyes red.
She didn't wait.
"I saw another life."
Lucius turned, slowly.
She didn't flinch.
"I saw you. I loved you. And I lost you."
Her voice cracked.
"I didn't want to believe it was real."
She looked up at him.
"Was it?"
---
Zara leaned against a tree nearby.
"I dreamed of war. You died in my arms. I remember the weight of your blood."
She crossed her arms, jaw tight.
"You never looked at me the way you look at her. But I still followed you."
She looked away.
"…Did I matter back then? Or was I just another weapon?"
---
Velda stepped forward next.
She held up a torn scroll. The one she'd been trying to finish for weeks.
"The formula in my dream—the spell I died trying to perfect? It's the same one I've been struggling with here."
She dropped the scroll into the fire.
"I think I was your friend once. I think I loved you, and never said it."
Her voice was calm.
"…Did you know?"
---
Lilith didn't speak at all at first.
She just sat down beside him.
Stared at the fire.
"I kissed you in the sky. We wore white. You trusted me."
Pause.
"And then you died because I couldn't protect you."
She looked over, softly.
"I remember you saying you loved me, just once. And it wasn't enough to save either of us."
She exhaled.
"So say it now."
---
Lucius stayed quiet for a long time.
The wind moved. The fire cracked.
Then he spoke.
Low. Even.
---
"I didn't remember any of you. But I felt you."
He looked at Claire.
"When I couldn't sleep, you were the calm."
At Zara.
"When I bled, you were the fury that kept me standing."
Velda.
"When I doubted myself, you were the voice in my head making it make sense."
Lilith.
"When I broke, you were the one who made me want to hold on—even if it hurt."
---
He stood.
"I don't know if I loved you then."
He turned to them all.
"But I do now."
---
No one answered.
Not with words.
Claire rested her head on his shoulder.
Zara leaned back and closed her eyes.
Velda simply nodded, once.
Lilith didn't cry.
But her hand found his.
And she didn't let go.
---
There were no flames tonight.
Only warmth.
And that was enough.