"Hello, stranger," Remy said in an even tone. Maksim's fists clenched at his sides without permission, and he gaped down at her in an attempt to confirm that this was real, that his magic had not grown so out of control that he was hallucinating.

He knew his mind could not conjure up this image of her, though. The way she was looking up at him now, with cautious eyes and one side of her mouth curled upwards into a small smile, was too real. Besides, there were things about her he had not remembered seeing before except when he had used the spell, like the way her skin was taut and purple beneath her eyes as though she was exhausted, and the way her hair was piled messily on top of her head. Guilt consumed him—had he worn her down this way?

Then came the confusion, and with it, the anger. He grabbed her forearm roughly and pulled her into the small storage office behind him, where hundreds of files were shelved in a small, windowless space. There was only one small light, and he was half-glad for it. He wanted to hide himself from her as much as he could. He could not bear it if she saw how he had changed.

"What on Refilyn are you doing here?" he demanded harshly, dropping his hand when he realised she had flinched away from him. "Was I not clear enough when I told you I did not want to see you in Astracia again?"

She exhaled in disbelief, her eyes glassy as they always were when he had said something to hurt her—something that he wished would not happen as often as it did. "Don't worry, you were quite clear. I hate to damage your ego, but I didn't come here for you."

"Then why are you here? You have no reason to be."

She scoffed at that. "God, I'm stupid. I actually thought you'd be civil. Nothing's changed, though, has it?"

Remy searched for the door handle, but Maksim clutched her arm again, this time careful not to hold it too tightly.

"Do not walk away from me," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Then don't treat me like I'm a disobedient pet!" she shouted, thrusting her arm from his hand and taking a step back. "What is wrong with you?"

Maksim felt a pang of fear jolt through his chest at those words, and he stepped back, gulping. He could not look at her, so he turned his back to her, raking his trembling fingers through his hair roughly. The stench of dust was enough to make him want to choke. 

"Why are you here?" he repeated, this time in a low voice.

"Your mother needed my help with something. That's all you need to know."

He spun back to face her, frowning. "My mother? What could she possibly want with you?"

Remy shrugged, resting her hands in her pockets as though it was the most normal thing in the world. A jagged line fell across her face as the shadows submerged half of her features in darkness, the other half golden where the old light hanging from the ceiling reached her. Looking at her made his heart ache, but he could not stop now. He had thought about her for too long, imagined what it would feel like to be so close to her that he could reach out and touch her without a world standing in their way hundreds of times, and now she was here and he felt as though he barely recognised her. He had never seen her so calm, so rational, so closed off from him. She could look him straight in the eye without so much as blinking, while he felt as though he could barely breathe.

It was almost funny; the tables had turned, their personalities switched. Everything was different.

"Nothing important," she responded, her eyes flickering momentarily to something beside him, though there was nothing there to see.

"You are lying," he accused.

"Does it matter?"

Anger began to surge through him again, and he could not help but raise his voice in his reply. "Of course it matters! We do not keep secrets, Remy, and you do not conspire with my mother without telling me."

"You left me!" she yelled, her voice cracking. Just like that, she was her old self, and he could see her as her again. Everything she had tried to cover up when he had left her standing in the alley was pooling in her grey eyes and flowing straight into his own chest. "I don't owe you an explanation. You chose to walk away from me, so the reason I was here today is none of your business now. If that's me keeping secrets and conspiring, so be it."

"So that is it, then," he mumbled, his voice empty and filled with ice. "That is how we work, on separate roads that no longer meet? You will hide things from me and act as though none of it matters, as though I do not have a right to know?"

"You never wanted to see me again," she whispered, tucking a strand of hair that had become loose behind her ear. Her fingers were trembling. "I'm only giving you what you wanted."

"I thought ..." He trailed off, having no idea how he wanted to finish his sentence. I thought you trusted me. I thought we could tell each other anything. I thought we had something better than lies and secrets.

"You thought my life revolved around you," she finished for him. It wasn't a question.

"Are you at least safe?" he asked, closing his eyes momentarily. When he opened them again, everything about Remy had softened.

"I'll be fine."

"That does not leave me with much confidence."

"I'm not your problem anymore, Max. You don't have to worry about me."

"I wish that were true," he murmured, taking a subconscious step closer to her so that he was close enough to hear the sound of her breath as it escaped her lips. The office suddenly felt much smaller and much darker, and the Main Hall seemed a million miles away. He could barely hear the bustle outside and had almost forgotten that the only thing shielding the two of them from the rest of Astracia was the door behind Remy. Perhaps it was the way she said his name that did it, as though she had known him his whole life, as though she had studied every part of him and knew him like the back of her hand; as though she did not see him the way everyone else seemed to, as a monster—or, at least, the brother of one—but as someone she truly cared about. It was strange how such a foolish nickname had always had the power to put him at ease and make the ground beneath him crumble at once.

He wanted to lace his fingers through hers, or kiss her, or loosen her hair from its constraints—anything to make him feel closer to her again—but he couldn't. The image of her resting her head against a mortal boy stopped him, and he remembered where he was and what it was he was supposed to be doing.

"You are staying in Astracia, then?" He tried to hide the hope he felt. 

"Only for Tykon's mother's funeral. He asked me to stay." Her eyes fell to his robes. "Speaking of, I don't suppose you have anything I can wear. I don't really want to be the only one not following the dress code."

Maksim raised his hands, about to use his magic, before he remembered the burning in his fingertips where the remnants of his last usage still remained. He was not sure what would happen if he tried to use magic now, and he could not lose control again—not with her.

"I will find you something," he nodded without making any attempt to leave. There were too many things he still needed to say but did not know how. The air was thick with silent words and unwavering eye contact, untouched skin that tingled with the heat of being close again. "You would not have told me you were here were it not for the funeral, would you?"

Remy looked down, her eyelashes black against her pale cheekbones. In that, he knew his answer. "I only came because Hilda asked me to. I didn't think you'd want to see me."

"The question was never of want." He sighed and maneuvered past her to find the door handle, glancing at his timepiece in the process. "We should find you those clothes. The funeral will be starting soon, and Tykon is already displeased with me. It would be best I did not show up late and make things worse."

Remy remained silent, but as he opened the door and re-emerged back into the Main Hall, losing himself in crowds of red, all he could hear was the words he wished she would say.

They never came, though, and it took him a moment to realise he was not quite sure what they would be even if they did.

[A/N: I'm not happy with the way this chapter turned out but that's probably because I've been looking forward to writing it for ages. don't worry, there'll be plenty of reksim scenes coming up and hopefully they'll be better. I'm just glad I had time to write and post it because I know you guys have been waiting for it. 

let me know what you think!]