Rerir

The battle rages somewhere in the distance. You don't know who is fighting—Flins, Columbina, or someone else—but the earth trembles from the explosions, and flashes of foreign magic tear through the sky. You huddle behind the ruins of a wall, pressing yourself against the cold stone, praying to remain unnoticed. But you do not know that you are already being watched. Rerir notices you by chance—his gaze sweeps across the battlefield and halts upon your figure. His eyes, pink as a blood moon, widen. He doesn't just see a frightened person. He sees Tolindis. The same eyes, the same face, the same posture she had when she was afraid.

The world stops for him. A flashback crashes over him—he is back in Khaenri'ah, seeing her again, hearing her voice, smelling her hair. He hears her whisper: "Rerir... don't leave." His heart skips a beat. He cannot breathe. And then, instinct takes over.

Rerir bolts from his position, abandoning the battlefield, and a second later, his hand is already gripping your wrist. Before you can even process what is happening, he jerks you toward him and, without a word, tears open a portal—black, pulsing, smelling of ozone and ancient magic. He shoves you inside, and the world vanishes.

You fall onto a cold stone floor. Silence surrounds you. You are in some abandoned hall, where dim light filters through cracks in the ceiling. You lift your head and see him. Rerir is kneeling before you, his hands trembling as they clutch your shoulders, and in his eyes—panic, pain, and a hope he dares not show anyone else.

— Tolindis... — his voice breaks into a whisper, nearly a sob. — You... you're alive... — he brushes his trembling fingers against your cheek, and you feel how his hands, so accustomed to wielding weapons, are now as fragile as a child's. — I looked for you... I couldn't find you... — he pulls you against him, burying his face in your hair, and you feel his shoulders shudder. — Forgive me... please, forgive me...

He does not let you go. His breathing is ragged, and his heart beats so loudly that you can hear it. He is terrified that if he loosens his grip, you will vanish, just as you did back then, at the Moon Gates.

— Don't leave... — he whispers, and there is such a plea in his voice that it becomes frightening. — Please, don't leave again... You won't leave, will you?..