Taris grimaced as he toweled off the water from his bath. At least the smell of mint calmed him down. He rubbed his temples, he probably shouldn’t have gone after Envy like that. The elf’s head felt like it was splitting though, ever since that mind-reader dug through his memories. Taris sighed, his dream still haunting him. Layne’s words kept coming back to him…

He tried to ignore the thoughts that wouldn’t stop flashing their way through his mind as he pulled on new clothes, all white today. Taris could almost feel Layne’s spirit staring at him, “Fine, I’ll go see her.” The images stopped, and he nearly laughed. Even fifty years later, she knew how to annoy him. He didn’t bother opening the Shadow this time, instead pulling it around him. When the darkness fell he was gone.

He moved swiftly through the Shadow Realm, slipping past the meager barrier around the castle. The assassin checked her room first, only to find it empty. He scryed through the shadows and found her, stepping out in the library, to find Aera seemingly waiting for him. “Taris,” she said in a cool greeting.
The assassin stopped dead, she wasn’t wearing her gloves. “Aera,” he replied, “how are you feeling?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You would have killed me, had I been pregnant,” she said, “wouldn’t you?” Aera’s voice was quiet, and he could hear the hurt in the words. 
It made him ashamed.

Taris looked away, “I’ve done worse, Aera. I’m a killer, and I happen to be very good at it. It's the reason i was given this contract, despite every human in the city hating our kind. Normally, I would have no qualms about my job, I never had any before. But… you… I couldn’t. And I knew I needed to find a way to keep them from sending somebody else.”
She stepped closer to him, uncertainty on her face. “Why? What makes me so different? Why do you care if I live or die?”
Taris felt his blood rush, he could smell the lavender on her skin, layered on top of the smell of her skin. He stepped next to her, trying to find the words. She looked at him and he knew, words weren’t what he was looking for. Aera’s eyes widened as his lips met hers and a small noise escaped her throat. She melted against him for a moment, her eyes closing. Fire burned in his veins as his tongue flicked inside her surprised mouth.

Taris broke off first, to catch his breath and leaned back in, but her hand came up to his chest. Right over his burn, and he could see she realized it too. Aera looked down, “Taris… I, I can’t… I’m so sorry.”
He stepped back, eyes shadowed as annoyance flicked over his face for just a moment, then pain. But he schooled his face quickly and sighed heavily, “No, Aera, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, I just needed to see you again…” The assassin stepped back again, turning to leave. Why did he feel hollow suddenly? Why did every nerve in his body scream at him to turn around, pin her between him and the wall and kiss her again? He paused before opening the Shadow, unable to bring himself to leave.