Fragments of the Dark

Chapter Twenty Eight

Celene lay stretched out beside him on the bed, the blanket drawn up and over her body.

Din was next to her, his arm lazily around her, feeling her body heat seep into him. Never, never before had he felt like this. Had been so completely lost in someone that it felt chaotic and reckless and so good.

He'd put his helmet back on but still Celene said, "I can feel you staring."

Din turned his gaze up to the ceiling. "Sorry."

"What's wrong?" She rolled onto her side, propping her head up to look at him.

He shook his head. "Something Cara said."

Celene raised an eyebrow. "And what did she say?"

"Omera asked who you were. And Cara answered and said, 'Empress Keres.'"

Celene fell silent and sat up, propping her arms upon her knees. The blanket draped around the lithe form of her body. Bone white scars peppered her skin, ones he hadn't noticed before. The scar that split her face was a sharp contrast to her bronzed skin.

"I haven't used that title in a long time." She said finally. "A very long time."

"But you were... Empress."

"For a time. But I was never in control. I was a puppet- the Emperor just pulled my strings." She shuddered. "I was a slave. A slave for the power and madness. The Force can be used for so much more than just battle techniques. And my master chose to use it to manipulate me. Change my memories. Convince me the only he was right and this was my destiny."

"You were supposed to lead the Empire." Din's voice was quiet as he understood the amount of power she truly had. Of what she had been trained to do.

Celene nodded. "He will never stop looking for me. If he can't control my power, he will simply take it."

Icy fury coiled in Din's chest. He wouldn't let that happen. Celene reached for the bundle of clothes at the end of the bed, tugging the shirt over her head. "We'd better get a move on before one of the kids bursts in here with Grogu."

Din knew she was right but the absence of her warmth in the bed was like a bucket of ice water. He reluctantly stood up and stared down at his Beskar armour, shining in the morning light. Celene pulled on her pants and paused, seeing his hesitation. "What?"

Inside his helmet, Din squeezed his eyes shut, cursing at his weakness. He refused to tell her that he didn't want to put the Beskar back on. That this was part of his identity- as much as it had begun to feel like a prison. She couldn't know that about him. Couldn't know he was beginning to lose himself.

"Nothing." He reached for the pieces and began to click them into place. He felt her gaze on his back for a second or two longer before she went back to dressing.

"We can't stay here for much longer." She pulled her hair from her shirt, letting it hang loosly down her back.

Din's stomach churned. He knew she was right. "Yeah, we raised hell here. It's going to draw attention." His Beskar clicked into place. He sat down, fastening the leg pieces.

She finished and turned to face him. "We've got to figure out what to do. The Empire is always going to be on my ass." Shadows flitted across her face and he stood up.

"What are you saying?"

She met his gaze through his helmet, her onyx eyes clouded. "We should split up. You take Grogu and disappear. They'll be more inclined to chase after me."

"What? No-" Din shook his head, ignoring the pang in his chest at the idea of separating. "No, absolutely not."

She let out a breath. "It's not going to matter for long. If I don't get that third dose of Amentris, in a few months...."

"Don't say that," he ground out the words. "Don't fucking say that."

She held her ground. "It's the truth. Everyone dies, Din. It's inevitable."

He swore. "No. We-"

The flaps of cloth on the door rustled and Din fell silent, the words dying on his lips. Winta poked her head through, Grogu standing next to her leg. From behind them came Omera's voice. "Winta! I told you to knock." She stepped through the door, a tray of food in her hands. "I'm sorry- I hope she wasn't too nosy. I brought breakfast." She stopped a healthy distance from Celene, the tray clutched in two hands.

Din didn't miss Celene's grimace at Omera's now hesitant manner in approaching her. The display of her power had been fear-inducing at the least. Celene lightly took the tray from Omera's trembling hands and nodded her thanks.

Grogu gave a soft coo as he wandered into the space. Celene crouched down and held out a piece of fruit for him. He gripped it with his tiny hands. Din pulled his gaze from Celene to face Omera who was studying him.

"What are your plans now?" The widow brushed a piece of hair back from her face. "Will you stay here, with us? Our village could always use protection."

Celene rose from the floor, folding her arms across her chest. She eyed Din, waiting for him to answer. He finally managed a shrug. "We haven't decided yet. We're not sure what kind of danger we may draw here if we stay."

Omera tilted her head. "Surely you're capable of handling it." She glanced at Celene. "You both are."

"You'd be surprised," Celene muttered.

Grogu finished his piece of fruit, not even giving Din or Celene a backwards glance as he happily toddled after Winta, out into the morning sunlight. The three of them watched him go.

"He's happy here," Omera observed.

"Yeah," Din said quietly. "Yeah, he is."

Celene shifted on her feet beside him and said softly, "Let's take a walk."

They bid Omera goodbye and Din followed her out into the brilliant morning light, the village already alive, the wreckage being gathered and thrown out from the battle. Corpses littered the ground, grass burnt and reduced to ashes in some place. There was no sign of Cara anywhere. Celene veered off toward the woods and Din had no choice but to follow.