Chapter 37 – The Secret in the Flame
The city didn't sleep, but tonight, Nova wished it would.
Rain whispered against the windows, and the apartment was dark except for the glow of the candle Bea had lit hours ago. She said it calmed her. Said it reminded her of the first night they met, back when Nova had been all smoke and silence, and Bea was a voice in the dark that said, "I see you."
Nova sat curled on the edge of the bed, staring at the letter in her hands.
It wasn't supposed to exist. Not anymore.
It had been hidden in a drawer sealed shut by time, by fear, by her own promise to never look back.
But now it was open.
And so was everything else.
Bea entered quietly, a towel wrapped around her shoulders, wet strands of hair sticking to her cheek.
"You look like you saw a ghost," she said softly.
Nova didn't respond. Just held out the letter with trembling fingers.
Bea took it.
Unfolded it.
Read.
Then looked up, the color draining from her face.
"You… you never told me."
Nova's voice cracked. "I couldn't. If I did, you'd look at me like you are right now."
Hurt. Confused. Distant.
Bea sat beside her, the letter still in her lap.
It was from someone they thought was gone. Someone Nova had sworn was out of their lives forever.
Cassian.
He was the man who taught Nova how to survive. The one who first set her soul on fire—and almost destroyed her in the process.
The letter was dated three weeks ago.
He wasn't dead.
He wasn't gone.
And he wanted her back.
I'm in the city. I know you're not alone anymore. But I still have the piece of your story you left behind. If you want it—if you want the truth—you'll come to me.
Bea whispered, "What truth?"
Nova shook her head. "I don't know. But I buried everything about him for a reason."
Silence.
Long. Heavy.
Then Bea stood. Not angry. Not cold. But certain.
"If there's a piece of you missing, Nova… we have to find it. Together."
---
The Next Day
They drove through the city, through streets thick with memory. Bea's hand stayed in Nova's the whole time.
Cassian lived in the part of town that looked like yesterday never left. Everything was cracked, rusted, humming with ghosts.
Nova's heart thudded in her throat.
They knocked.
The door creaked open.
Cassian stood there, older now. The same cruel mouth. But his eyes? They weren't fire anymore. They were shadows.
"You came," he said, voice like smoke. "Both of you."
Bea stood tall. "Say what you came to say. Then we leave."
He looked between them. Smiled. Then stepped aside and handed Nova a box.
Inside were photographs. Letters. A journal.
Nova gasped. "This is my mother's…"
Cassian nodded. "I told you I didn't know where she went. I lied. She wrote to me. I kept everything. You deserve to know why she left you."
The room spun.
Bea's fingers wrapped around Nova's.
And Cassian said the words that would change everything:
"She didn't leave because she didn't love you. She left to protect you. From your father."
---
Later That Night
Nova and Bea sat on their living room floor, the box between them.
Tears streamed down Nova's face as she read the words her mother had written two decades ago.
Bea wrapped her in a blanket. Whispered, "You're not broken. You're a story being pieced back together."
Nova buried her face in Bea's neck. "Thank you for coming with me."
Bea kissed her forehead. "I'll go anywhere, so long as it leads back to us."