2. CHANGE

CHANGE

J ulian blinked at his best friend as he said, "Caemorn is…"

"Kaly. Yes, I am, Julian. Won't you two come down?" Caemorn gestured for him and Christian to jump down from the cliff. "That wall is going to shake apart soon. It's not safe. Not that you'll be hurt, but… still. It'll be easier to talk as well if you're down here."

"If you're Kaly then we don't have much to say!" Julian barked back, anger filling him. "You've taken Caemorn's soul and--"

"No," Christian's hand on his forearm squeezed tighter, stopping him from speaking.

His best friend was rigid and staring at Caemorn with all his might as if he could see through the Immortal. And maybe he could. Julian could almost feel the Eyros power working within him.

"I don't understand," Christian muttered and shook his head.

"What?" Julian did not bother to cast his voice down low. Caemorn would have been able to hear them anyways.

"He doesn't understand how I can be the same and still be Kaly," Caemorn answered helpfully.

Julian's head snapped towards him. "So you've just been pretending all this time?"

But that didn't ring true to him. Even the most consummate actor could not have pulled what Caemorn had off. Daemon would have known .

"He wasn't pretending. He wasn't lying. He… he didn't know," Christian murmured and shook his head.

Caemorn nodded. "You understand, Christian! Ah, such a good student already. Now please come down before the wall brings you down."

"Just because you didn't know who you were before, you do now. I think we should stay up here," Julian called down.

Caemorn laughed. Not evilly. Not sinisterly. But fondly. And maybe a little sadly. "Seeing you two now--as you were --before everything… it's poignant and harder than I thought."

"How is that exactly?" Julian asked, just to keep the conversation going.

His eyes flickered all over the space. He cocked his head slightly. He drew in deep breaths, flaring his nostrils. He looked, listened and tried to smell even the way out of here.

But my parents! I can't leave them!

But he wouldn't put Christian in danger either. He had already caused his best friend to lose his First Life, he wouldn't let Christian lose his Second. He would get Christian through this and then face Kaly himself.

"The gate's not here yet," Caemorn said.

That had Julian snapping towards him again. "What do you mean?"

Caemorn spread his arms. "A gate out of here hasn't been created yet. But it will be. In time. Come, we really must--ah, you're going to be knocked down."

And sure enough, there was a low rumble that Julian felt in the soles of his feet that ran up his calves as the rumbling grew louder and louder. There was a crack and the stone snapped apart beneath their feet.

"Shit! Jump!" Julian cried.

He and Christian had no choice but to leap off of the cliff and onto the ground below. Caemorn gestured for them to come to him, to the stone structure, as his silver eyes were fixed behind them.

"Come on! It's all coming down! You'll be crushed!" Caemorn cried.

Julian heard the crack , crack , CRACK as the entire cliff-face split into boulder-like pieces and fell apart. All of those boulders started to roll down towards them. He and Christian exchanged one look and then they dashed past Caemorn into the structure. Caemorn followed after and swung two heavy doors shut.

"Help me!" Caemorn demanded as he braced himself against the doors.

Christian and Julian jumped over to him and braced as well. There were booms! The doors shuddered. Dust sifted down from up above as the whole structure.

"Is this place going to collapse on us?" Julian asked Caemorn.

"According to the two of you, no," Caemorn answered even as he flinched when there was a terrible groaning noise all around them.

"According to us ?" Christian asked. His hair was full of rock dust and it dusted his face like makeup so that he appeared pale.

"Yes, you were the ones to tell me how this went," Caemorn answered.

All of them froze, even stopped breathing, as the thunderous sound of falling stones ended and there were only a few cracks and rumbles and then silence. They still kept their shoulders against the doors for long moments.

"I think it's all right," Julian said and slowly pulled back from the doors.

They held. The others pulled back too and stared at the doors.

"Well, weren't not getting out that way anymore. Tons of rock are against those doors. Guess the ceiling's the best chance we've got," Julian said as he glanced up at the roof that was open in spots.

"There's no need to get out. The gate will appear here," Caemorn said as he dusted off his once pristine black robes.

The robes reminded Julian of a headmaster's robes, but more goth. Caemorn wore black trousers tucked into knee-high black boots. He had on a tunic with an elaborate sash around his waist done in silver embroidery. There was a crest on the center: a skull with a crown. The tunic had a high Chinese-type collar that framed Caemorn's almost delicate white throat. The cloak was longer in the back than the front and had a deep hood.

"What are you wearing?" Julian asked.

Caemorn lifted a pale eyebrow and his lips twitched a bit. "I forgot. You don't know. Because it hasn't happened yet."

"What are you talking about? What hasn't happened? And what do you mean that we told you about the rockslide and the doors not breaking?" Julian demanded.

This was Kaly. He should have been afraid or furious. But instead he simply felt frustrated yet relatively calm.

I don't sense any malice from him. This isn't the person who attacked us at the museum , Julian thought. But if Caemorn is Kaly… this makes no sense!

"I told you that Moonfall is out of time. You can access it from any time period on Earth or the Ever Dark," Caemorn explained patiently. "People from years apart, centuries, millennia apart can meet here at the same time."

"So you're from the future?" Christian asked, his face screwing up.

Caemorn nodded and smiled. "Exactly."

"We told you what happened here because when we go back to Earth it will be before you come here?" Julian asked, figuring it out.

Another nod. "Yes, you'll tell me what happened. You'll tell me everything."

"What's everything?" Christian tilted his head to the side.

"I'm so glad you asked that. But first." Caemorn went over to a desk at the far wall.

The room reminded Julian of a disused church that had been turned into a study of sorts. There were bookcases on the walls, though no books were there any longer. They were in boxes as if someone were moving. The desk had a lit candelabra on it and an open book in front of a chair as if Caemorn had been sitting here reading.

Waiting for us.

There was also a soft cloth bag to the right of the book. Caemorn picked it up and offered it to Julian.

"What's that?" Julian asked, not reaching back.

"Julian! Those are your--"

"Parents' soul gems. You'll need these before you go back so I can… well, so I can undo what I did," Caemorn stated and shook the bag at him.

Julian snatched it out of Caemorn's hand and clutched it to his chest. The bag felt warm, almost as if he could feel his parents' living skin. Caemorn's expression shocked him as it was sad and happy at the same time.

"I know how much you've suffered, Julian, without them," Caemorn said softly, his eyes shadowed.

Julian's eyes flashed with anger. "You don't get to talk about that! If you're Kaly…"

"That if again." Caemorn shrugged as if amused.

"You just seem like Caemorn," Julian admitted.

"I wondered when you changed your mind about me. When you considered me a friend," Caemorn stated and smiled. "When you caught sight of me on the cliff, your voice was so relieved. That was the moment, I think."

"I consider Caemorn a friend or something," Julian said with an answering shrug.

He had been relieved to see Caemorn. Ecstatic really because the Kaly Vampire was one of the smartest people he knew and if anyone was going to get them out of Moonfall safely it would have been him since Daemon and Balthazar could not be there.

"We've been friends for so long. And this time-- your current time, rather--was so painful for me that I never asked." Caemorn leaned back against the desk, resting on it, and smiling that fond smile again. "It's strange because the three of us… Well, we talk about so much. And Balthazar practically lives inside my head most of the time while we run the Academy. But--"

"Academy?" Julian couldn't help but interrupt. It was a fascinating idea that he was talking to someone from the future. A future where things weren't maybe so dire as now.

Caemorn grinned. "No matter what Balthazar tells you later, it was my idea."

"If you're from the future, we get out of here safely," Christian said.

Caemorn nodded. "Indeed, you do."

There was a high-pitched shrieking followed by more rumbling from outside that had him and Christian cringing and waiting for the roof to fall on them.

"I suppose there could be multiple futures where maybe things don't work out, but I'm pretty sure of this one," Caemorn said after it quieted down.

Julian stared at him hard. His Eyros gift did not seem to be working though, or maybe Caemorn was simply able to block him.

If he is Kaly he would be able to do that. Then again, I'm new so Caemorn could block me too. His eyes slid to Christian. He's not blocking Christian though.

Christian was still regarding Caemorn with a head tilt. His eyes had that look he got when he'd found a fascinating puzzle and was trying to work it out.

"You're the original Kaly," Christian suddenly said.

Julian frowned at him. "That can't be. We know that Caemorn was turned by Artemis."

"You are both right," Kaly said.

"How? Or better yet, just tell us how to find the gate. You claim to be Caemorn and Kaly. You claim we survive. You claim to be our friend so get us out of here," Julian insisted as he tenderly tucked his parents' soul gems into his front right pocket.

"We have to discuss other things first," Caemorn said. "If the future is going to work the way it should."

"What things?" Christian asked, tensing slightly.

Caemorn chuckled. "You can read my mind, but you're still suspicious, Christian. That is why you are my greatest student."

Christian pinked. "Oh, I… I didn't… that is something, I suppose."

"Explain what you mean so we can get out of here, Caemorn," Julian said with a nervous glance at the roof.

He could see the shattered moons above them. Chunks of them were streaking towards the Ever Dark. If they were here when the chunks hit it would be over like it had been over for the dinosaurs.

"You have a chance to know the future and still you are impatient," Caemorn scolded, but it was mild and affectionate. "That hasn't changed. Always moving. Always wanting to explore. Not much for explanations. Show don't tell, Caemorn. That's what you always tell me."

Julian and Christian exchanged a look. Did they believe this closeness with Caemorn? He could tell that Christian was curious. He was, too, if he admitted it to himself. Julian had been thrilled to see him before the Kaly thing. Was it so hard to believe that they had a future as close friends?

"But I need to talk about the past, not the future," Caemorn said. "And I think that showing would be better than telling in any case. Christian, it's time for you to learn something that not even Balthazar knows how to do yet. Or I should say that he doesn't remember yet."

"You can teach me this even though it's an Eyros gift?" Christian asked.

"I have come to know much of the Eyros gift." Caemorn nodded and extended a hand to Julian's best friend. "Take my hand and take Julian's. My memories will pass from me to the two of you. You'll see how it was. You'll understand."

"We're going to have to really trust you here to do this," Julian pointed out.

"Yes, that's true. But you're a risk taker. Both of you. This is just one more risk for incredible rewards." Caemorn waggled his fingers.

"I see no lie in his mind. No malice either," Christian said.

"So you think we should do this, Christian?" Julian asked.

"We've done crazier things. And I don't see or sense any gate anywhere near," Christian told him. "So we have some time to spare."

"This is insane and both Balthazar and Daemon would kill us themselves for considering it," Julian laughed.

"The two of you would age them if that were possible with your antics," Caemorn said with a smirk. "That hasn't changed either."

"You feel the same to me now as you did back on Earth," Christian said to Caemorn. "You aren't like Kaly at all except…"

"Except I am . All will be explained." Caemorn offered his hand again.

With one final look between him and Christian, his best friend took Caemorn's hand and then reached for Julian's. The moment their fingers touched, there was a rushing sensation, similar to that of entering a gate. The world blurred. When it cleared again, they were no longer in the little building in the forest clearing. They were…

What is this place? Where is this place? The Ever Dark? Yes, but not Moonfall.

The sky looked scalded over. Storm clouds moved continuously across it, blocking out any chance of sun or moon or starlight. There was tall grass in patches on the wet earth. Julian looked down at his feet and saw the ground was soaked with blood not water. He took a few staggering steps back, rather like a cat that didn't like the texture of the ground beneath its paws, but he was held in place. He still was grasping onto Christian's hand.

"What is this? What the hell is this?" Julian gasped in horror.

The plain ran from horizon to horizon. He saw that in addition to the waving long grass there were lumps on the ground.

People, Julian thought and then amended, Bodies.

The wind blew past him. It was tainted by the overwhelming scent of copper. But Julian's fangs did not come out. He wanted to vomit. He looked over at Caemorn. The Kaly Vampire was staring away from them towards three other people who stood in the bloody field.

He called out the one he recognized. "Seeyr!"

The Immortal was dressed in all white. Flowing white robes that pooled on the ground, somehow not soaking up blood. She didn't have a bandage around her eyes either. They were yet to be plucked out. Her eyes were silver, like all Vampires except for him and Daemon's. She did not turn to him at his call. He tried to move towards her, but again, he was frozen where he was. He frowned.

"This is a memory, Julian. She can't hear you. None of them can. Only in Moonfall can the past, present and future meet, but it can't be changed or interacted with," Caemorn told him. "We can just watch."

"Who are those two with Seeyr?" Julian asked.

Caemorn pointed to a handsome man with olive-toned skin, patrician features and dark hair sweeping down to his mid-back. There was something about his expression--wry, almost mirthful, like he knew a secret that no one else did--that had Julian guessing who he was before Caemorn confirmed it.

"Eyros," Caemorn said with a nod and smile. "You know Seeyr, of course. And that… that is me . The real me. The core of me."

The person pointed out as Kaly had the platinum hair and fine features that typified many Kaly Vampires. They looked to be in their thirties, but they could have been older or younger. Their eyes were ancient.

"Why have you summoned us here, Kaly?" Eyros snarled.

"This was early in the War," Caemorn said as an aside. "Later, Eyros would never meet me. Fear and loathing will overcome him. But, for now, he still believes he can survive this."

"But he doesn't. We know he doesn't," Christian whispered.

"He will not die here, but he and I will die eventually. But death is not the end, Christian. Remember that," Caemorn reminded them.

"So tell me why I shouldn't rip your mind into shreds, Kaly? Do it quickly or I am leaving," Eyros snarled.

"Kaly has asked us here, because they have finally admitted that they have lost control. As if that wasn't evident from the death all around us," Seeyr said quietly.

"They lost their damned mind when they killed Ashyr!" Eyros roared. "This is just the icing on a cake!"

"That wasn't me," Kaly said with a grimace. "Nor was this."

"Who else could have been? You're saying that another Kaly Vampire could have taken down Ashyr? Another Kaly Vampire can take on all of the Immortals? Surely, you jest!" Eyros laughed bitterly.

"Not another Kaly Vampire, but another Kaly. Another me ," Kaly clarified. They lifted their arms to their sides and the almost diaphanous gown they wore was shown to be threaded through with diamonds. It glittered under the stormy sky. "I spread myself too thin."

"What are you talking about?" Eyros' eyes narrowed.

"I've been experimenting," Kaly said, their voice low and melodious. "I went too far."

A snort from Eyros. "What a surprise! You going too far? Never! Please!" Eyros shook his head in disgust. "And yet you still refuse to take responsibility. Another Kaly did this. Not you! But someone else–"

"Not me. Not exactly me. My slices," Kaly interrupted.

"Slices?" Eyros scoffed.

"You are quick to blame me for this War, Eyros. But all of the Immortals played a part in this disaster, didn't we? None of us is without blood on our hands except for Ashyr, but that's only because my slices killed him first. Weryn has gone mad and is slaughtering everyone he can see. You believe you're too clever and are trying to control all of us only to control no one, including yourself. Wyvern, Mirryr and Helm are hiding or running off." There was a sneer on that lovely face. "I could list how all of us failed and have become our worst selves from the moment Daemon went to sleep. My slices have been taking advantage of our predictability."

"And things will only get worse," Seeyr murmured.

Eyros' gaze snapped between her and Kaly as if uncertain which person was saying something more concerning. He finally settled on Kaly..

"Slices? What are you talking about, Kaly?" Eyros asked again.

"I split my soul into parts. Many parts," Kaly explained.

"You did what?" Eyros' eyes went huge.

"There are dozens of me out there. Too many to count really. I didn't notice the warning signs that each slice of me wasn't as complete as I was and that they were hiding things from me," Kaly continued with a shake of their head. "Each one has become more and more unstable . That's why they started this War. That's why they keep killing."

"You're unstable when you're whole! And you decided to slice that tattered mind of yours into dozens of pieces?" Eyros shook his head in disgust.

"They have gone beyond me. They have their own ideas. Their own destinies or so they think," Kaly replied wearily. "But I believe that this War would have occurred even without their interference–"

"Oh, that's rather arrogant of you--"

"But it's true. You won't see it. You won't believe it, which is why I'm more than certain that it would have happened," Kaly interrupted Eyros with a grimace. "But I admit that my slices did start it. I tried to stop them, but they've gone beyond my reach. I am seen as much of an enemy as you are."

"Because you disagree with what they've done?" Seeyr asked.

Kaly nodded after a momentary hesitation.

"Well, how do we fix your little mistake, Kaly?" Eyros demanded. "If I'm inclined to help at all, which I'm not saying I am."

"We can't fix it. Not the three of us. At least, not now. Only in the future will I be strong enough to restore myself with Daemon's support," Kaly answered.

A bark of laughter left Eyros and he began to pace the field in short, sharp steps. "Daemon?! Daemon's support ?! That's always what you need! Daemon isn't here, Kaly! He won't be for centuries! Millennia! You know this! What are we going to do in the meantime?"

It wasn't Kaly who answered, but Seeyr, "The two of you will die ."

Eyros slammed to a halt and looked as if someone had brained him with a two by four. Kaly appeared unsurprised, but more weary than anything else.

They both do die. Eyros is reborn as Balthazar. And Kaly is reborn as Caemorn, Julian put together.

"That's impossible!" Eyros practically stamped his feet, which amused Julian no end. He would have to tell Balthazar about it. "We're--"

"You will die and be reborn and then rejoin us, completely unaware of who you once were," Seeyr said as she touched the center of her forehead where the "third-eye" was supposed to reside. "We are too far down this path for any other outcome."

"Any why are we so far down this road, Seeyr? Why didn't you warn us? Why didn't you stop this? I'm not dying!" Eyros growled, hands fisting at his sides.

Seeyr slowly lowered her head. "You know why, Eyros. I do not use my gift for your benefit, but for–"

"Daemon's," Kaly whispered. "What does Daemon get from this future?"

"Everything he wants," Seeyr answered, lifting her eyes to meet both of theirs.

"If this is truly a memory then Seeyr must know the truth about you, Caemorn, but she's mentioned nothing," Christian pointed out.

"And she wouldn't lie about stuff like that to Daemon and Balthazar!" Julian added.

"You are not wrong about that or her. All shall be explained," Caemorn said.

"Daemon cannot want this War. Cannot want what my slices intend to do in the end. So…" Kaly let that word hang.

"Everything that is happening now had to happen," Seeyr replied with a dry smile.

"Maybe Kaly is immune to the idea of death, but I am not! Daemon would not want me to die! He needs me by his side! He loves me!" Eyros shook his head.

"Indeed, he does, Eyros. And you will be by his side once more. Just not as you are now," Seeyr explained patiently.

Julian thought of how naturally Daemon and Balthazar had become close. Even Balthazar's thorns had only drawn Daemon closer to him out of sympathy rather than thrusting him away.

"Beyond dying, there is another thing that neither of you will like, but must happen to accomplish Daemon's favored outcome," she continued.

Eyros' silver eyes narrowed. "What?"

"The only way that this works properly in the end is for you two to become friends," she answered.

There was a beat of silence.

"Then we are doomed," Kaly stated simply.

"No, for there are others who will help you see the way." Seeyr turned her head and Julian swore she was looking at him.

"Does she see us?" Julian asked.

Caemorn opened his mouth but then just shrugged. "She sees the future, Julian. We are in the future. She could know that this is happening.."

Seeyr turned back to Eyros and Kaly, who were glancing in the direction she had been, and frowning, likely because they didn't see anything or sense anyone.

"Kaly, you must explain exactly how this splitting of your soul was accomplished and how to bring yourself back together. Explain it as if you were speaking to your future self right now," she told them.

Julian's eyes widened. "She's having Kaly tell us so we can tell him. Tell Caemorn when we get back."

"Yes, we have to remember all of this, Julian." Christian took out his phone and opened the recording app.

"Christian, we are not really here," Caemorn reminded him. "There is no phone in your hand, let alone one that could record this."

"Ah, okay, but maybe imagining it will make me remember everything better," Christian said and hit record anyway.

"You will remember," Caemorn assured him.

They listened to Kaly's very precise explanation. Julian and Christian repeated it to one another. The phone recorded. When they reached the end, silence fell again. Eyros, as was his wont, ended it.

"Now what?!" Eyros asked. "Is Kaly just going to take my soul now? Get this Second Death over with?"

"No, I'm afraid not. You will have to go on, Eyros, for some time. The last of us who were still fighting to fall. And," here, she paused, "you will not even remember this meeting or our future to comfort yourself with. At least… at least, not for some time."

"The only way I am not going to remember something is if I seal my own memory away from myself and I have no intention to do that–"

"You need to, Eyros. You must . For Daemon," Seeyr interrupted him.

Eyros shook his head and started to pace. "I cannot believe you! To use him against me like this!"

"I'm not using Daemon against you. I am merely telling you the truth . In order for Daemon's best future to come into being, you must remove not only your own memory of this meeting and the future, but Kaly's and mine as well," she insisted.

"Why?" Eyros stared at her.

"Because the other Kaly slices must not know," she answered.

"That's why none of them remember," Julian breathed. "Eyros took their memories of all of this away."

"Yes, but Eyros will be able to restore all of our minds when you tell him of this," Caemorn answered. "Well, he will remember this moment. You will show him it, Christian."

Eyros considered both Kaly and Seeyr. His gaze swept over the bloody field and the scorched sky. He finally looked at the other two Immortals again.

"If Daemon saw this…" Eyros' arms raised then lowered. "If he saw… If he knew…"

"He will know, Eyros. He will forgive us even if he does not forgive himself. But that is because he will have his Childe with him," she said.

"You always said that you would do anything to give him a Childe, Eyros," Kaly said.

Eyros whirled around. He was trembling. "And what will you give? Death is nothing to you. Nothing at all."

Kaly's expression grew distant. "I will know that I am no better than the rest of you when it comes down to it."

"The great Kaly down in the dirt with the rest of us!" Eyros scoffed again.

"Yes, my illusions that I cared for Daemon more and would protect him best will be gone," Kaly's voice sounded haunted.

Eyros stared at them. His expression slowly softened. He believed what Kaly was saying. He understood what a terrible weight Kaly was willing to accept.

"What of you, Seeyr? You don't speak of your death. What does this glorious future ask of you?" Eyros asked.

Seeyr passed a hand over her eyes, but only said, "Sometimes death is better."

Julian thought of her lost eyes and the endless millennia trapped in the Spire. She knew that was going to happen. And she accepted it for the future that she foresaw with happiness for others.

I must make sure she gets some reward, Julian thought. If there is any way for this to be made up for, it must be done. What she's endured, what they've all endured and paid for this future.

"We have tarried here too long," Kaly said with a worried shift of their feet. "Do what must be done, Eyros, before the slices find us."

Eyros grimaced, but he nodded. He would do it. Julian let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This was the past. It had already happened, but he saw how narrowly this had been accomplished.

"Come closer and open your minds to me," Eyros said with a sigh.

The two Immortals did. Eyros placed his hands over their foreheads and suddenly everything went dark again. There was a rushing sound. And, once more, Julian, Christian and Caemorn were back in Moonfall in the fallen down building with the fallen down world all around them.

Julian swayed. "Whoa! Whoa! That was… that was wild!"

Christian nodded as he released both their hands and brought his own up to his forehead. "I can't believe it! The three of you worked together in the end."

"Yes, we did," Caemorn dusted off his outfit once more. "And he will remind Seeyr and I."

Christian was looking at Caemorn curiously. "How will you take it? Finding out you're Kaly? After everything the slices have done to you, I can't imagine this was a revelation that was easy to take.

Caemorn's eyes went distant as he thought about this. "It explained a lot of things. And…" There was a twinkle in his eyes now. "And I've always thought I was special."

Julian let out a snort. "Yeah, I guess you are special, Caemorn. Or should I call you Kaly?"

"Caemorn is fine. I rather like it," Caemorn told him.

There was a whirring sound and suddenly the back of the building glowed with runes. It was a gate!

"Ah! I see you did it, Julian," Caemorn said with satisfaction.

"Did what?" Julian blinked.

"Summoned a gate for us!" Caemorn flashed a smile. "Very well done."

Caemorn went over to the back wall. He used his fingernails to draw blood from his right wrist then he made an infinity symbol on the stone. The wall turned opaque. Caemorn gestured for them to go through. Julian put a hand over the gems in his pocket, feeling their warmth, and then he thought of Daemon and Balthazar.

"Right, let's go," Julian said.

Christian nodded and the two of them moved to the gate. But Caemorn remained standing to the side.

"Aren't you coming? This place is falling apart," Julian said, pausing for a moment.

"There's time yet. I have some things I need to do and then I'll be following after you," Caemorn assured him.

Julian still hesitated. "Don't wait too long, okay?"

Caemorn flashed him a smile. "I will be there when you get back. And I will be back in my time for you as well. Do not worry, Julian."

"I'm not! I'm just… okay, okay, I am worried. Just stay safe, Caemorn," Julian told him, feeling awkward yet somehow wanting to say this.

"Julian, Christian," Caemorn said as they were both turning towards the gate. They both looked back. "When Eyros said it was impossible for things to be different between us, he didn't know about the two of you. You both changed everything."

Julian shook his head. "You were willing to change, Caemorn. That was what mattered."

And, with that, Julian grabbed Christian's hand and the two of them went through the gate.