𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐑

𝟓

✦ ˚༺♡༻˚ ✦

SAMIRA KHAN (SAGE)

-

Perched on the edge of the rooftop, I flick ash from my cigarette, the night still clinging to me. It's all a blur—the alley, the cold snap of air, and her. Mina. I take a drag, the smoke harsh but steady in my lungs, trying to ground myself in the quiet. Not even the night sky could comfort me.

Afterward, I didn't feel much– just a strange, hollow calm. I exhale, watching the smoke drift into the night, vanishing like it never existed. I haven't let myself dwell on it. There's no point. But deep down, I knew the Solari in the alley wasn't what unsettled me. It's Mina. She lingers in my thoughts, like something unfinished, something unavoidable. It's not hate, but it's a need that runs deeper than anything else.

The rain patters softly around me, and I catch the faint creak of a window below. My eyes shift toward the sound, barely noticeable over the steady drizzle, but enough to pull my attention. I watch as the window eases open, the glass reflecting a glint of streetlight before the dull thud of feet hitting wet pavement reaches me.

For a moment, there's only the rain. Then, a slipper—bare feet against brick—quiet, cautious, like they're trying to keep hidden. I can just make out fingers gripping the edge of the gutter, knuckles white against the slick metal. A rustle of fabric, barely audible beneath the rain, as they climb, body tense and slow, each movement deliberate. They're coming up. Closer. Almost there. I stay still, waiting.

Mina. She stood on the rooftop, rain pouring down on her like the night had swallowed her whole. Her clothes were ruined—stained and torn in places—and the delicate bows around her wrists had come untied, hanging by threads. The rain plastered her hair to her skin, dark and heavy, framing her face like a broken picture. Yet there was still something about her, even in this state, that made her seem untouchable as if the storm couldn't reach her.

But I could.

I watched her from the shadows, hidden just beyond the roof's edge, the rain masking my presence. She had no idea I was there, no idea that I was the reason she was still standing. I had stepped in before anyone else could. But she didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know that the danger she barely escaped tonight had been closer than she could imagine.

My fists clenched involuntarily as I watched her. There was something about the way she stood there, soaked and trembling, but still... together. I had a sense that she was always like that—so perfectly composed, even when the world happened to be unraveling around her. I should've felt relieved that she wasn't completely destroyed by whatever had happened earlier tonight. But instead, all I could feel was the weight of my own resentment, curling tighter inside me.

I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be the one watching over her, protecting her from dangers she didn't even know existed. Yet, here I was, soaked to the bone, my body protesting every moment, but my eyes never leaving her. I hated that I was tied to her like this, forced into a role I never asked for. She didn't deserve my protection, didn't deserve to be kept safe. And still, I found myself watching her, making sure she was okay.

I breathed in the cold night air, feeling the rain sting my skin. She shifted slightly, her eyes scanning the horizon as if she could sense something, but she didn't see me. Of course she didn't. She never did.

Part of me wondered if she ever would.

I watched her shiver, the cold finally seeping in. She hugged herself, her arms wrapping around her torso, and for a brief moment, something softened in me. I almost pitied her, standing there all alone, soaked and broken. Almost. But that feeling was fleeting. I couldn't afford to feel pity, not for her. Not after everything.