"…and we can forget we ever knew each other! Okay?"

He had not let her speak. The words had poured from his mouth like water from a broken dam, so quickly and haphazardly that Luxa had hardly seen how he had any control over them. Anger. At her, at the situation, but chiefly at her. At her always "being mad at him". At how she treats Ripred. At—

Everything about her, it seems.

We can forget we ever knew each other.

Those words freeze everything in Luxa. No, freeze is not the right word. Perhaps distort is more apt. The sharp words on her tongue disappear, falling back into a throat and dragging harsh lines on the way down. Her vision, for just a moment, turns fluid and fractured. Instead of blinking, she finds that her eyes widen. It feels as if they are drawing everything in. Her head hurts without hurting.

We can forget we ever knew each other.

Forget… forget… everything.

An entire year. His life in her hands, and vice versa. Quests and conversations and quiet moments.

For a moment, she had even thought that she could trust that he would be there for her to lean on.

"Gre-go is too loud." A small hand grasps Luxa tightly. "Shh, Gre-go."

His eyes hold the same distance as hers. His jaw tenses as he says, "I really think this will be faster."

With a great effort, Luxa finds her words again. "Fine." Only one word she can muster. She walks to Aurora as Boots sticks loyally to her side. Even from her, Gregor gets no pardon.