Chapter 76: The Anniversary She Destroyed

Kassia stood in front of the apartment door with her hand frozen on the handle.

Today was supposed to be the day she surprised him.

Today was supposed to be the day she told Daemon everything the awakening, Apex, the future she had been building in secret, the recommendation that could finally pull him out of endless low-rank struggle.

She had imagined his shock, then his smile, then the way he might pull her into his arms and say they could finally breathe.

Instead, she was here to break his heart.

The thought made her stomach twist so hard she almost turned away.

She had never imagined she would be the one to do this to him. Daemon, who came home bruised and still tried to joke.

Daemon, who bought half-dying flowers and called it a successful negotiation. Daemon, who looked at their small apartment like it was already enough as long as she was in it.

But if she did not cut him away now, Apex would eventually look in his direction.

Adrian’s warning repeated in her mind with ugly clarity.

Right now, their relationship was not loudly recorded anywhere official. If she disappeared cleanly, Daemon might remain untouched.

If she stayed, if she ran with him, if Apex saw him beside her, he would be dragged into Leonard Valen’s shadow whether he understood it or not.

Adrian had told her it would only be for a few months.

Stay low.

Leave the city.

Cut every visible connection.

Once the evidence went public, Apex would not stand for long. Leonard’s end was already being prepared.

After that, she could return. After that, she could explain. After that, she could kneel in front of Daemon and tell him why she had to become cruel for a little while.

She clung to that hope like a rope over open air.

Then she opened the door.

The apartment smelled like food.

Not ordinary food.

Her favorites.

Daemon had set the table with more care than their small space usually saw. Warm light. Clean plates.

Dishes arranged like he had been thinking about this evening for days. When he heard the door, he turned from the kitchen with a smile already forming, eyes bright with the kind of pride that only appeared when he wanted to give her something good.

"You’re early," he said. "Good. I was worried the last dish would cool."

Kassia could not look straight into his eyes.

If she did, she would collapse.

"Daemon..."

Her voice came out wrong. Too thin. Too careful.

His smile faded a fraction.

"What happened?"

She forced the words out before courage could fail.

She told him she could not continue the relationship.

She told him their paths were different now.

She told him she had made a decision about her future and he was not part of it.

She did not mention Apex’s underground files.

She did not mention Leonard Valen.

She did not mention regeneration that bordered on immortality, or Adrian’s warning, or the fear that loving him openly might get him killed.

She gave him the hard version. The clean break. The kind of goodbye that left no room for him to follow.

For a second, Daemon only stared at her.

Then the devastation she had predicted settled over his face in real time.

Confusion first.

Then pain.

Then a quiet, disbelieving hurt that made the carefully prepared anniversary table look suddenly obscene.

"Is this a joke?" he asked.

Kassia shook her head.

"No."

"Today?" His voice roughened. "Of all days, today?"

She still could not meet his eyes.

"I am sorry."

Sorry was a worthless word in that room, but it was all she could put between them without spilling the truth and dragging him into the fire with her.

Daemon took one step forward, then stopped, as if the air itself had turned against him. His hands curled at his sides.

Whatever he wanted to say seemed to break apart before it reached his mouth.

Kassia could not stand there any longer.

If she stayed, she would take it back.

If she took it back, he would stay beside her.

If he stayed beside her, Leonard’s people would eventually see him.

So she turned around and left the apartment before her tears could destroy the only protection she still believed she was giving him.

Behind her, the door shut on three years of shared mornings, shared wounds, and a future that had been close enough to taste.

She went straight to Adrian.

Her face was pale, her hands unsteady, but her decision felt locked in place. She had done the hardest part.

Now she only needed to disappear for a few months, survive, and return when Apex finally burned under public light.

Adrian met her in a quiet location away from the main guild routes. His expression was composed, almost gentle.

"You did it," he said.

Kassia nodded once. She did not trust her voice yet.

"I will arrange flight tickets and a temporary house," Adrian continued. "Somewhere off the main hunter routes.

For a few months only. After that, if everything goes as planned, you will be able to return."

The words should have comforted her.

They almost did.

He offered her a drink while he prepared the details. Kassia accepted it without thinking, fingers still numb from the breakup. The liquid was cool against her tongue. Bitter underneath.

Then the edges of the room began to soften.

Her vision tilted.

"Dr... Adrian...?"

The cup slipped from her hand.

Darkness took her before the sound of it hitting the floor fully registered.

When awareness returned in broken fragments, she was no longer in the city air.

Cold light.

Restraints.

The heavy pressure of sealed dimensional space.

She had been transferred underground into the secret dimension.

Footsteps approached.

Leonard Valen came into view with the calm of a man inspecting newly acquired property. His gaze moved over Kassia once, measuring, satisfied.

He turned to Adrian.

"You went through so much effort to bring her in," Leonard said. "If you had asked me, I could have acquired her easily for you."

Adrian did not look at Kassia.

"No," he replied. "I did not want that. This is my last project. I do not want her to die. After this, our deal is finished. You leave this girl alive."

Leonard’s mouth curved slightly, neither agreement nor refusal.

Adrian continued, voice steady in the cold light.

"I will talk to her once she is awake. That is all I want."

On the restraint table, Kassia’s fingers twitched as consciousness dragged her back toward horror.

The man who had told her to run had never planned to let her escape at all.