Chapter 164 Chapter 164

Chapter 164 Chapter 164

Aurelia

“It is,” he replied. “And not.” I watched him carefully now. Because this wasn’t his usual controlled explanation tone This was something a bit more stripped down. Less polished, he leaned back slightly against the bed frame now, finally looking at me properly.

“I’m not losing control,” he said.

“I didn’t think you were.”

“I know," he said then. Another pause. Then, quieter, “but I feel the structure tightening.” He said, and that made me go still. Not scared, just listening harder.

He continued. “It’s not bad,” he added. “It’s just… more.” I nodded slowly.

“More of what?" I asked.

“Responsibility. Direction. Decisions that don’t pause.” He said, "I stayed quiet." Because I could hear it now Not stress, not panic, weight Just weight sitting evenly across everything he does. He exhaled slowly.

“I don’t talk about it much,” he said.

“I noticed," I said, and that got a small glance from him, not defensive. Just acknowledging it, then he added, “because it doesn’t change anything.”

I shifted slightly closer without thinking. “That sounds like you thinking alone again,” I said. He didn’t deny it. Of course he didn't. Talon doesn’t lie about patterns. He just doesn’t always share them.

A silence settled for a moment. Then he said something quieter than everything else so far. “I don’t mind it,” he said. “I just notice it more now.”

I frowned slightly. “Because of me? “I asked." That made him look at me properly. “No,” he said immediately. “Not because of you.”

Then he paused and corrected slightly. “Not negatively because of you," he said. That distinction mattered to him, I could tell. I leaned my head back against the bed frame too. “So what is it then?" I asked.

He looked at the floor for a second. Then back at me. “Because I have something outside of it now,” he said. That made my chest tighten slightly. Not in a bad way, just… "Aware," he continued.

“Before, it was just structure. Work. Systems. Direction. That was it.” I nodded slowly. “And now,” he added, “there’s you.” That landed differently, not heavy. Just real. I didn’t say anything immediately, so he kept going.

“I don’t split it,” he said. “But I notice overlap more," I exhaled softly.

“Is that bad,” I asked.

“No,” he said quickly. “It just changes how I process time.” I tilted my head slightly. “How.” He thought about it for a second. Then, honest. “I’m more aware of what I don’t have time to do," he said.

That made sense in a way I didn’t fully expect. Not emotional drama Just reality math; I looked at him for a second. “You don’t have to carry it alone,” I said quietly.

He didn’t respond right away. Not because he disagreed Because I could tell he was processing whether that statement actually applies to him Then he said, “I’m not carrying it alone.”

I raised an eyebrow slightly. “You kinda are.” That got a faint reaction again. Not defensive, just slightly amused. “No,” he said. “Not anymore.” That made me go quiet because that part… was new. He shifted slightly closer on the bed now, elbows still resting on his knees.

“I don’t usually verbalize this part,” he said.

“I know.”

“But you asked differently than most people would," he said. That made me smirk a little. “That’s my talent.”

“It is," he said. Another pause. Then he added, quieter again. “You don’t try to solve it," he said. That caught me. I looked at him.

"What?"

“You don’t try to fix what I say,” he explained. “You just listen.”

I shrugged slightly. "Yeah, well… I don’t think you’re broken.” That made him go quiet for a second longer than usual. Then he nodded once, slow, like that answer actually settled something in him.

He leaned back slightly against the bed again, shoulders relaxing a bit. And I noticed it. That subtle shift Like something inside him unclenched a fraction. Not everything, just enough.

“I don’t say things like this often,” he said.

“I gathered.” He looked at me again. “But I trust your reaction,” he added. That hit a little deeper than everything else in the conversation. Not because it was dramatic but because it was rare. Talon doesn’t “trust” casually, not like that.

I shifted slightly closer now, resting my hand lightly near his. “You can just say things,” I said softly.

“I am," he said.

“More.” A faint pause Then he nodded. “Okay,” he said simply. And just like that, the conversation didn’t become heavier. It became easier. Not solved, just shared. A few minutes passed in silence. Not awkward, just steady again.

Then I asked quietly, "Does it scare you sometimes?" He didn’t pretend not to understand; he just answered “No.”

Then after a second, “I notice pressure differently now.”

“Because of me,” I said again, softer this time.

“No,” he repeated. “Because I don’t compartmentalize it the same way anymore.” I nodded slowly. That made more sense. Then he looked at me again. “And I don’t mind that,” he added.

That part mattered. A lot more than anything else Because it meant this wasn’t something breaking him It was something changing with him. He leaned slightly closer now, just enough that the space between us wasn’t as wide anymore.

“I don’t talk about this with anyone else,” he said quietly.

“I know,” I said.

“Only you," he said. That was all, no dramatic emphasis. Just the truth. I didn’t smile; I just nodded. “Okay,” I said softly. “Then I’ll listen.” And for the first time that night, his shoulders dropped fully.

Like he finally stopped holding something alone in silence. Not because it disappeared But because it had somewhere to go now.

It hit me on a random Tuesday… in between classes.

I was sitting in the library at Maylan, laptop open, notes scattered everywhere, half a coffee gone cold beside me, when I realized I wasn’t struggling to keep up anymore. Not with school Not with life, not even with the back and forth between Silverridge and everything else.

I was just… managing it. Like it had become normal My grades had been slowly climbing without me even noticing the exact moment it happened. One good assignment turned into another.

One professor's comment turned into consistent feedback. And suddenly I wasn’t just passing anymore; I was actually good at this. Dani slid into the chair across from me, dropping her bag like she owned the table.

“You look way too calm for someone with three deadlines,” she said.

“I am calm.”

“That’s suspicious.” she said

I glanced at her. “Why would calm be suspicious?" I asked.

“Because last semester you looked like you were surviving purely on chaos and determination.” she said

“Character development,” I said, and she squinted at me. “That sounded like something rich people say," she said.