Run, Cassius said urgently. Run now.
But Dario couldn't move. The thing wearing Alex's face was looking at him with recognition, and something that might have been fondness.
"You don't remember me," Lucian said, tilting his head. "Of course you don't. You were so young when we last spoke, barely formed. Still learning to separate yourself from your host's consciousness."
"I don't understand," Dario said.
"Cassius does. Don't you, old friend?"
Dario felt Cassius retreat deeper into their shared mind, but not before he caught a flash of memory—fire and darkness, and a figure with wings that might once have been white.
"We knew each other," Dario said. It wasn't a question.
"Know each other," Lucian corrected. "Present tense. Time works differently for beings like us. We exist in multiple states simultaneously."
"You're scaring him," Alex's voice broke through, younger and more human. "Lucian, you promised you'd be careful."
"I am being careful. I'm simply... reacquainting myself with an old friend."
The conversation was happening too fast, switching between Alex and Lucian so smoothly that Dario couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
"This is insane," Dario said, standing up abruptly. "I need to go."
"Sit down, Dario." Lucian's voice carried a weight that made Dario's legs buckle. He found himself back in his chair without conscious decision.
"That's better. Now, let me explain what's happening here. You and Cassius aren't the only ones of your kind. There are others, scattered across the world, most of them unaware of their true nature. But you're special. You've achieved something that most never manage."
"Which is?"
"Cooperation. Balance. Most hosts either suppress their passenger completely or are consumed by them. You've found a way to coexist. That's... rare. Valuable."
"Valuable to who?"
"To those of us who understand what you are. What you could become."
Dario's coffee had gone cold. He stared at Alex/Lucian, trying to process what he was hearing.
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing sinister. Friendship, perhaps. Companionship. Do you have any idea how lonely it gets, being the only one of your kind in a world full of ordinary people?"
Despite everything, Dario found himself nodding. The isolation, the constant fear of discovery, the inability to form genuine connections—it was exhausting.
"I have Sarah," he said weakly.
"Sarah doesn't know you. She knows Dario, the carefully constructed persona you show the world. But she doesn't know about Cassius. She doesn't know about the things you've done, the power you possess."
"I don't have power."
"Don't you?" Lucian smiled. "What happened to those men who tried to hurt you in high school? What happened to the boy who betrayed you?"
Dario's breath caught. "How do you know about that?"
"I know about all of it. The incident in chemistry class, the shooting, the way Cassius protected you. I know about Jamie and his pathetic little bet. I know about Tyler transferring schools after he started having nightmares about eyes that reflected nothing but darkness."
"You've been watching me."
"I've been watching all of you. Waiting for the right moment to make contact."
"All of us?"
"There are others, Dario. Not many, but enough. We're not alone."
The implications hit him like a freight train. Other people like him, living with ancient beings in their heads, struggling to maintain balance between two distinct consciousnesses.
"I want to meet them," he heard himself say.
"I thought you might." Lucian's smile was sharp and satisfied. "But first, you need to understand what you're really capable of. What Cassius has been hiding from you."
Don't listen to him, Cassius warned, but his voice was weaker now, more distant.
"What do you mean?"
"The incident in high school—do you remember what happened after you were tasered?"
"Not really. I remember the pain, and then waking up alone in the classroom."
"That's because Cassius took control. Completely. For the first time in your life, you weren't sharing the driver's seat—you were locked away while he handled the situation."
Dario felt sick. "What did he do?"
"He removed the threat. Permanently."
"Those men—they left. They just walked away."
"Is that what you think happened?" Lucian leaned forward, eyes glittering with malicious amusement. "Dario, those men didn't walk away. They ceased to exist. Cassius unmade them, erased them from reality so completely that no one remembers they ever lived."
The coffee shop seemed to spin around him. "That's impossible."
"Is it? You've seen what Cassius can do when he's barely trying. Bullets passing through him, men twice his size backing down from a look. What do you think happens when he stops holding back?"
He's lying, Cassius said desperately. I would never—
But even as he spoke, Dario could feel the truth of it, buried deep in memories he'd tried to forget.
"You killed them," he whispered.
"Cassius killed them," Lucian corrected. "To protect you. Because he loves you more than anything in this world or the next."
"I'm going to be sick."
"No, you're not. You're going to listen to what I have to say, and then you're going to make a choice."
Alex's face was back, younger and more human, but his eyes still held that ancient intelligence.
"I'm sorry," Alex said. "I know this is a lot to process. But you needed to know the truth."
"Why? Why did you tell me this?"
"Because you can't move forward without understanding what you are. What you're capable of. And because..." Alex hesitated, some of his confidence slipping. "Because I care about you. Both of you."
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough. I know you're kind and smart and stronger than you realize. I know you've been hurt before, and you're afraid of being hurt again. I know you're in love with a girl who can never really understand you."
Dario's heart was pounding. "And what about you? Can you understand me?"
"Better than anyone else ever could."
The silence stretched between them, heavy with possibility and danger.
"I need time to think," Dario said finally.
"Of course. But don't think too long. There are others looking for people like us, and they're not as friendly as I am."
Alex stood up, leaving money on the table for both their coffees.
"I'll be in touch," he said. "And Dario? Be careful who you trust. The world is more dangerous than you know."
He walked away, leaving Dario alone with his thoughts and the growing certainty that his quiet college life was about to become much more complicated.