Chapter 22: Complicity

She remained silent, stunned. Everything was spinning in her head.

So, she was going to survive… travel through time… find him.

That alone was huge. The rest, she could barely even comprehend.

"What can I do for you if I can’t even help you? "he whispered.

Blanche burst out laughing. Nervously. A laugh that dissolved into sobs. Too much—it was too much. She eventually collapsed onto the couch, tears blurring her vision.

The first burst escaped her without warning, sharp, almost strangled—more a reflex than real amusement. Her shoulders jerked, her breathing fractured into uneven pieces, and what might have passed for laughter cracked almost instantly. The sound grew higher, more fragile, repeating without rhythm until it twisted into something else entirely.

Very quickly, the laughter filled with something heavier.

It trembled. Broke. Collapsed in on itself.

Her chest rose too fast, too hard, unable to find a steady rhythm again. Air seemed out of reach—or maybe she was refusing it, as if breathing meant accepting everything crashing down on her. The sounds leaving her had nothing joyful left in them—just broken fragments, uncontrollable, slipping inevitably into something deeper.

Then the sobs took over.

Brutal. Inevitable.

They tore through her without restraint, stripping away any last attempt at control. Her face tightened, her eyes flooded all at once, and tears spilled over before she could even think of stopping them. They blurred her vision almost instantly, turning the world into something unstable and indistinct, as if reality itself refused to stay intact.

Too much. It was all too much.

Everything hit at once—emotions, revelations, exhaustion, fear—without giving her the chance to separate any of it.

Her legs nearly gave out as she stepped back, searching for support she barely found. She collapsed onto the couch rather than sitting, her body giving in all at once, drained of strength. The cushions sank beneath her weight, absorbing the fall without resistance.

She curled in on herself slightly, unable to remain upright, her hands instinctively gripping the edge of a cushion as if holding onto something solid. Her sobs kept shaking her in uneven waves, leaving her breathless between broken breaths.

He didn’t dare approach her.

He stayed where he was, held in a tense stillness. His body seemed ready to move, to close the distance between them—but something stopped him. Maybe the fear of making it worse. Maybe the fear of not being wanted.

His fingers tightened slightly at his sides, betraying a hesitation he didn’t overcome. His gaze never left her, fixed on her with a quiet intensity, but his feet remained rooted in place.

As if he understood, in that exact moment, that even the slightest closeness might be too much.

When she finally regained a semblance of calm, she murmured:

"I’d like to see my grandfather. And find my father."

Kiyan knelt before her, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

"This afternoon, I’ll take you to see Winter. And on Wednesday, your father. Okay?"

So he knew where he was. Of course. He must have investigated behind her mother’s back. Was it for her?

"Okay, " she said simply.

"Nothing else?"

Yes. One last thing.

"Who hit me?"

He furrowed his brows.

"The driver? He fled. We don’t know yet. But if I find him, you’ll be the first to know."

"You would have told me? Even after?"

" You want revenge?" he asked, unsettled.

" I want the name of the person who runs over a high school girl and gets away, "she spat.

Kiyan’s features hardened; his eyes turned obsidian again. Pure anger. Then, in a single breath, it all faded.

"Fine. I’ll tell you before anyone else. Anything else?"

She hesitated, then remained silent.

He continued, serious:

"About last night, I’ve thought about it."

Blanche raised an eyebrow, wary.

"I know some Drakions. I could introduce you to them. Over there, in the other world, this gift could be useful to you. And I’d feel safer knowing you’re protected."

She nodded, a little disappointed. He was right, but…

"That way, you could declare yourself to the one you love, " he said with a forced smile. "Date him, at school… just in case…"

Date a high school boy? She gave him an ironic look. Did he really think she liked boys her age?

"Ah. So he’s not from your school?" he guessed.

Silence. What could she say? Yes? No?

She could never tell him he was the one she loved. He would have too much honor to refuse.

And if she had told him during her future journey, he would remember, right?

What a terrible second chance.

"Fine. We’ll do that for now. Then, we’ll see," he concluded.

"Okay, " she murmured.

He sat beside her, then took her in his arms.

" You died, " he whispered. "You really died…"

A cold shiver ran down Blanche’s spine. Yes, she remembered.

Suddenly, she pushed him away and ran to the bathroom. He followed, holding her hair while she vomited. Her empty stomach burned.

She had been killed. It wasn’t really an accident. He had fled. A murder.

And the culprit was still breathing.

She now had a goal: find her grandfather, her father… confess her love to Kiyan—in one way or another—and stop that monster from hurting anyone else.

Kiyan gently stroked her back, tracing soothing circles. She loved it.

Once calm, she rinsed her mouth, washed her face with cold water, then sat on the edge of the bathtub. He settled beside her.

"How do you know all this? " she asked.

"I lied to you, " he admitted, not looking at her.

Blanche’s eyes widened. Him? Lie?

"Dad! " Eva shouted in the distance.

They jumped, their bubble burst.

" I’ll explain later, okay? " he whispered.

She nodded, confused.

"Eva must not know."

He plunged his gaze into hers.

"If she knew…"

"She would blame herself to death, " he finished, lowering his eyes to her injury." And your leg?

She had almost forgotten."

" I leveled Rest to the third stage."

"Rest?"

" A power that heals me while sitting."

He gave a wry, half-smile.

"So last night, instead of helping you, I prevented you from healing…"

She let out an awkward laugh. He nudged her lightly with his shoulder, and she almost fell if his hand hadn’t caught her. Their eyes met, suspended in the moment.

" Dad? " Eva shouted again, closer this time.

Kiyan abruptly turned and left the room without looking back.

Funny, Fenrir’s voice murmured in her mind. You say “Mr. Ardachir” when he’s around, but Kiyan when he’s not. I could almost be jealous… if love between a Djinn and a Drakioness weren’t impossible.

Blanche rolled her eyes. As if she didn’t care.

But the remark answered a question she had asked herself for a long time: it was indeed possible to be both Drakion and player.

And, she thought, probably also that…

" Love is equally impossible between a Drakioness and a god."

Touched, child, replied the God in question, amused.

Touched.