The shock of Severa's words renders her stuck for several seconds. Lucina rewinds them in her mind as if there is any more meaning in a phrase so simple, and when she finally understands, it's as if the world she comprehends is crumbling apart. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Severa shrugs, a careless raise of one shoulder that's almost offensive. "One, I already said that I told the police everything. Two, if you somehow didn't find out from your father, I don't think you'd believe the story."

Lucina watches her carefully composed expression, the irreverence of her tone. They're belied by something in Severa's eyes that reminds her of an animal about to bolt. "Tell me, and let me decide."

Severa turns her head and stares out the window. She's silent for such a long time, it's as if the redhead has sunken into stone. Lucina waits for her—the quiet of the car slipping into an eternity as her hands clench at the fabric of her jacket.

"I'll tell you what happened. From the start." Severa's words come in starts and fits, each pause like a solid beat of rest in a cluster of staccatos. "Owain invited me out to the river at your eighth birthday party. The one where your parents dressed you up as a 'princess hero', and Cynthia smashed her face into your cake."

Lucina remembers that. She had tried to wipe off Cynthia's face after her friend had tripped into Lucina's plate. Sumia had come out of the kitchen to wash up her daughter, and Severa gave her half of her own piece after seeing Lucina's empty dish. It was also the last time she saw Owain alive.

"I told him that I was going to be an adventurer far from here when I grew up, and Owain told me that he had a secret to share with me if I wasn't all talk. So, I met him at the river at sunrise when everyone was sleeping. He showed me this stupid cave on the other side that he wanted to store treasure in, and he made some big speech about being heroes and saving worlds beyond our own. I thought it was dumb and asked him to lead me back over the river, and on our way, I found..." She bites her lip. There's a horror in her eyes like she's seeing a nightmare, a voice in her ears that Lucina strains to hear. "Gods, I can't even tell you how awful it was."

"Does it have to do with what happened with Owain?"

Severa starts laughing—a lilt that sounds as unhappy as it sounds desperate. "It has everything to do with that."

"Then, I need to know. For my own sake. Please."

Severa takes another long breath, her body flinching like each revelation is ripping at her insides. "It was a book. We found it under a bush with torn cloth caught in the thorns like someone was trying to run past and and just shoved it in. And being the stupid kids that we were, we opened it. It..." She falls into a painful silence, eyes wrenched shut. "It was a horrible book. It burned Owain on his palms when he tried to pick it up. And I know it sounds like I made it up, but it branded his hands with an eye. When I...found him later, his palms had been slashed until you couldn't see it."

Lucina leans back. She shuts her eyes and holds her hands to her face as she tries to cease the whirling of her thoughts. At Owain's funeral, his hands had been wrapped in thick bandages, though no one would ever tell her why.

Several minutes pass before she could bring her hands down. "But what does an eye have to do with anything?"

"The eye's a mark. It made it easier for the book's owners to find him."

"But why?"

Severa smiles, a thin line across her mouth that doesn't reach her eyes. "Because it's a book that belongs to the Grimleal. And only Owain and I knew where we hid it."

Something cold bleeds into the space between them as if Severa's words had siphoned all the air out of the car. Lucina's has trouble breathing as her thoughts reel against one another like a tangle of kites weighing each other down. "The Grimleal were hunting children."

"And they marked them first, so everyone knows which ones to take. That's what I think." Severa's eyes become unfocused, distant. She looks like she's gone somewhere Lucina can't reach her. "I don't know yet what the book means to them, but the cave was undisturbed. Owain didn't tell them anything." Her knuckles tighten on the steering wheel.

"Do they know about you?" A thought flits across Lucina's mind and makes her stomach sink as if it's filled with stones. "They'll come for you if they do."

"Tell me something I don't know," Severa scoffs. "They...they tried once before, or I think it was them. When my dad took me on a trip after Owain's funeral to get away from everything. They nearly pulled me into a van when I was walking outside of a village in Chon'sin. My dad saved me, but he didn't let me out of his sight until we came home." She sits back, her shoulders sagging as if under too much weight. "So, yeah. I've been dealing with it for a while."

Fear grips at Lucina's throat when she considers how close she came to losing both Owain and Severa. "Why didn't you tell anyone this?"

Severa turns her head to meet her gaze, and when Lucina sees the look in them, a shock runs down from her throat to her belly. "Do you really believe I didn't?"

Silence stretches between them like the distance between two drifting stars. Lucina shifts to see Severa better, the slight rustle of her jacket like a bomb inside the car. "Who did you talk to?"

Severa frowns. "A man who worked for your father's department. Big man, big mustache, bigger belly. I ran into him after—after I found Owain in the river. He patted my head and listened to me blabber. He told me that he would write everything down in his report, and it would be best for my safety and my parents' if I don't mention any more of it to anyone. He would take care of everything else."

She stares ahead, gaze distant. "He's still on the force, and, yet, nothing's been solved. There's something wrong with your father's police department, Lucina."

"There's nothing wrong with my father's policemen." Lucina's voice comes out high and tight. She doesn't recognize herself.

The redhead tilts her head towards Lucina, exposing the long lines of her throat. "Then, why doesn't your father know?"

When Lucina doesn't answer, Severa lets out a soft snort. There's something in her gaze that reminds Lucina of someone who's fought too many battles, but there is a strange sort of relief too. "So, now you know it. My sordid tale. How many hours do I have before you kick me out of your life?"

Lucina starts, the question a sudden shock. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it was my fault. I found the book." Severa can't meet her gaze. "And it was my big mouth that made Owain want to show me that cave in the first place. And I'm the one that let him walk home alone." The next words come out almost inaudible. "Do you hate me?"

Lucina looks at her, hearing everything repeat in her head. She doesn't know.

When she thinks about Owain and how he'd been found, a fury rises up in her, dark and suffocating like a beast awakening, clawing at her throat, her mind—she wants nothing more than to see what happened to Owain be brought to light and the perpetrators to pay what they owe. Her face must have revealed her ire, because she sees something in Severa's eyes die out, her expression like a man's who has been told that he was condemned to death. Silently, Severa gets out of the car, walking over the gravel edge and into a field of waist-grass, as if heading to a destination Lucina can't see.

Watching her go into the darkness without looking back makes terror grab at Lucina's heart, and she's seized with a sudden panic that she is going to lose her. Lucina darts out of the car and towards Severa, trampling the grass around her in a bid to reach her. When she does, she grabs Severa's arm, and the redhead rips it away with a snarl, whirling upon her like a wounded animal. Something glistens on Severa's cheeks in the fading twilight, and Lucina's chest tightens at the sight.

"What do you want, Lucina? Do you just want answers to Owain's death? Are you looking for someone to blame like everyone else?" Severa's voice cracks. "Was that all you wanted from me?"

Lucina's throat closes at her tone. She can't speak, and Severa takes the silence as a judgment.

"Fine." The redhead's voice is low, furious, and desperate. "We'll never speak of this again."

"Severa, I'm not angry at you. I don't blame you."

"Bullshit." Severa's fists are clenched tightly at her sides. She looks so disappointed. "I don't know why I'd thought you'd be different."

Something tears in Lucina's chest, but she moves towards her anyway. "Severa, will you listen to me? You didn't kill Owain. It wasn't you."

"But it might as well have been," Severa spits. "It should have been me."

Lucina almost slaps her. "No. It shouldn't have been either of you." She takes a long breath. "Show me the book. I want to judge it for myself."

"No! I'm not taking you to see it. That's just stupid!"

"Fine! Don't take me to the cave, and let me see proof for myself!"

The redhead snarls, showing teeth. "Good! I'm glad you agree!"

Severa is too smart for reverse psychology. Lucina should have guessed.

"Look, I just..." Lucina holds her fingers to her forehead. "I just want..."

"You don't believe me, do you?" Severa's tone is sharp. There's clear hurt in her eyes.

"Of course, I do. We have recorded evidence of magical weapons and staffs in history, remember?"

"But we live in the real world, and that shouldn't happen." There's a crack in Severa's voice. It sounds ready to break. "Magic doesn't exist. Voices shouldn't come out of books, and demons caught in pages shouldn't be able to kill you."

"But they do. And they did. I'm sorry, Severa." Lucina glances at the heaving girl in front of her, panic at the edge of her expression. Whatever's between them feels like a thin cord on the verge of snapping, but she has to know. "Where is the book?"

"Are you even listening to me? I can't tell you, otherwise it'll get you killed like it did Owain!"

The words hang between them like a curtain, an iron wall. Severa's voice comes out quiet. "I mean it. If you find out, you'll die too. I don't want to get you involved."

Something thick settles in Lucina's throat. She swallows past that. "And you? Are you not afraid that this secret you insist on bearing alone will kill you too?"

The words come softly like a whisper, but each of them hit Lucina with a vivid violence. "I'm already prepared for that."

A long stretch of silence. Lucina feels her mouth go dry, and her fist clenching at her sides. "And how are you prepared?"

Severa looks away. "I can't tell you that either, but it's part of the reason why I said that..." She glances up at Lucina, meeting her eyes. "That this might be a mistake."

Each of Severa's words feel like they're spearing out pieces of Lucina's heart, as she realizes her meaning. "So, you plan on taking on this burden by yourself? The Grimleal come after you and you take them on, becoming a hero, but what happens to you, Severa? Do you die like Owain and never let your family know what happened? Never let me know?"

Severa crosses her arms. She looks deeply tired. "Just go, Lucina. Walk away. You don't need to be involved in this train wreck of one. Go wait in the car, and we can pretend this never happened."

Lucina trembles. It's not from fear. "Do you honestly believe that I'm the kind of person who walks away when someone's in trouble?" She stares at Severa until she realizes that the girl in front of her wants Lucina to blame her. Like she blames herself. "No, Severa. Help isn't what you want, is it? You don't want to be a hero. You want to be forgiven. You think that this plan you have is going to make up for what happened to Owain, don't you?"

Severa looks like Lucina might have well as struck her. "What would you know about me?"

"I know that your favourite colour is red and that your favourite fruit are peaches." Lucina takes a step forward. "And I know that you hate being compared to your mother, because you want to be recognized as your own person. I know that your father's favourite topic to preach is forgiveness. And I know that you feel like you'll never earn it to make up for what you think you should have done." She takes another and watches as Severa's shoulders start to shake. Lucina searches her memory for a phrase she's heard the priest use before. "Grace is only given when it's undeserved. That's why it's a gift."

Severa's breathing hard. She doesn't respond.

Lucina continues, "You say you don't want to draw me in, but you heard that officer. The Grimleal abducted children from Ylissetol eight years ago." She notices that Severa has gone rigid, but she continues. "They killed Owain." Her voice drops. "I'm already involved, Severa. They took family from me."

The redhead is silent for such a long time that Lucina is about to prompt her when she speaks. "You didn't see his face." Severa covers her face with one hand as if trying to block out something. "The police had closed his eyes before your family ever saw the body, but he looked so terrified when I found him, Lucina. He looked like he died painfully and alone."

A stabbing sensation goes through Lucina's chest, and she feels like she can't breathe. It passes in a minute, but the sorrow it leaves behind is almost suffocating like she's drowning in its wake. He didn't deserve that. He never did.

"And I'm the one that led to him to it. Even the detective who talked to me said it would be better if I kept quiet about it. That maybe I made up the story, because I was the one responsible. Who'd believe a crazy girl about a cursed book?"

Lucina's eyebrows rocket towards her hairline. She spent her entire life talking to her father about his work, and she's never heard of any credible investigator who would say something like that to a child for what is clearly an adult's crime. "What was his name?"

"I don't know. Cerviches or something like that." Severa scoffs softly and looks away into the darkness around them. "What does it matter? He was right."

"Severa, he was a grown man telling a young girl that...a murder was her fault. There was something wrong with him. Not you." Lucina thinks about Severa's words. She begins to wonder about the investigation into Owain's death. "As someone dear recently told me, you can stop dragging around this guilt for something you didn't do."

Severa turns to look at her, but there's a expression in her eyes that makes the hair on Lucina's arms stand up. "Lucina, just drop it. We don't live in a fairy tale. You're not my hero, and I don't need you to save me." The redhead's knuckles have swollen to nearly twice their size. There's something broken in her hand like there's something broken in Severa. "So, stop treating me like I'm a walking pity party."

"Then, stop acting like it. Like you're the only affected by this." Lucina feels her composure crumbling, something hot and desperate climbing in her chest. "You don't think that after everything you've told me, I wouldn't be terrified for you? That I wouldn't dwell on the fact that I nearly lost you as well as Owain? That if you keep going at this by yourself, I am going to lose you." Lucina's voice goes quiet. "I can't afford to do so. So, please let me help you before it's too late again."

Severa steels herself, but the defensive line of her shoulders crumples—slowly, at first, like a crack along the surface of a dam. Her stoic expression falters next, and the corner of her mouth wrench themselves down in grief. Her cold demeanour collapses. "Lucina, I didn't think—gods, I'm so self-absorbed. I didn't think about how you felt about this at all."

Lucina takes a final step towards her until she's only a foot away. She reaches out to gently grasp Severa's unhurt hand. "I don't know what your plan is to handle the Grimleal, but I'm here beside you. Promise me you won't do something stupid like sacrificing yourself to save the world."

Severa scoffs, "No way. I'm way too self-centred to be a martyr. It sounds more like something you'd do."

Despite her words, Lucina feels worry writhing in her belly. "Promise me, please."

"Fine. I promise I will not kamikaze myself to save the world. Happy?"

"Yes." Lucina's arms loop around Severa's neck, drawing them closer until they are resting their foreheads against one another's. "If it ever comes to that, we'll think of something else, okay?"

"Melodramatic, much?" There's a second of hesitation before Severa relaxes into Lucina's hold and says, softly, "I won't go anywhere, Lucina. Not unless you want me to."

Lucina closes her eyes, hearing only the sounds of their breathing in the silence around them. They stand there, caught in a moment where nothing can harm them and nothing can hurt them—a pause in time that the taller girl commits to memory until she rebuilds the warmth of Severa nearby, the scent of her hair that reminds Lucina of wildflowers, and the solidness of her arms around Lucina's nape. When the memory's completed, her eyes flutter open as she takes in the sight of the girl before her, her own eyes closed in turn for only a second longer.

Severa opens her eyes, and Lucina feels a jolt through her belly when their gazes meet. There's a heat to Severa's stare that makes the blood in Lucina's veins feel like molten gold, smudging out coherent thoughts in her head with its fingers of liquid fever. Lucina has a moment to admire the colour of Severa's eyes—a shade of wine that in the right kind of light turns to a searing red, the nearly porcelain quality of her skin, and faint tinge of pink in her lips before rational thought departs from her, and all she can think about is how utterly gorgeous Severa is.

They gaze at each other for a long while before Severa stiffens. Lucina's uncertain from what until the redhead scowls. "You know that was, like, the perfect moment for a kiss, right?"

...oh.

Oh!

Lucina leans in, but Severa's already sighing and moving away. She pushes the crestfallen girl back with a hand on her shoulder. "The moment's over." She coughs and turns her gaze to the side, reddening slightly. "But that doesn't mean there won't be another one."

"I see." Lucina clears her throat, disappointed. "Why don't you take the lead the next time it comes up?" Apparently, she keeps mistiming it.

"Depends when it does." Severa shrugs. "So, can we leave this field? Cause my hand is seriously killing me."

Yes, that swollen and bruised hand looks like it needs medical care. "We better hurry to the hospital then." Lucina grabs Severa's unhurt hand and begins leading her to the car by the wayside. "And we need to tell my father about what the book you found."

Severa jerks her hand back. "Um...hello? Unreliable police reports? Shoddy investigations? Something's happening with your dad's police force, and he might be in on it?"

Lucina's throat burns. The thought of her own father... "No, he's not. He can't be. I know him, and he would never let Owain's death slip by without finding out the truth." She turns around, seeing only the other girl's faint outline in the moonlight. "Do you trust me, Severa?"

Severa hesitates for a moment, for a lifetime, before she steps closer to Lucina, touching her arm. "If it's you making the calls, I've got your back."

"And do you trust my judgment that my father will be able to help you with this?"

"You're backing me into a corner here." A hiss comes from the other girl. "But yeah, I do."

Lucina can't help the smile that breaks across her face. She crushes a startled Severa into a hug. "Then, we'll tell him the moment we return."

"All right, geez! Let go of me. You think you'd just asked me to marry you with the way you reacted," Severa grumbles. "If this blows up in our face, I get to tell you 'I told you so'."

The pair make it back to the car on the side of the road and realize that they're extremely lucky that no one took it while they were gone, since the doors are unlocked and the keys still are in the ignition. Severa starts the engine again, and they take off of the side of the road, gravel crunching beneath the wheels.

Lucina watches the outline of the grasses waving by as they pass. "I'm starting to suspect that we shouldn't be near any open fields when we have serious conversations."

"Why? Yelling at each other across a field has been therapeutic for our relationship."

Lucina frowns at her before an idea occurs. She pulls out her phone and dials her father's number. "You can arrange to meet him at the hospital."

Severa glances sharply at her. "What now? While I'm driving?"

"I'll hold it." Lucina places her father on speakerphone as Chrom's voice fills the inside of the car. She nudges Severa, and the redhead grimaces before leaning forward towards the phone.

"I have something to tell you about Owain."