No matter the order, the game’s unfairly stacked

Hotaru

I know they'll be coming to find me soon
But I fear I'm getting used to being held by you

Ru returns to the House drained and brittle. The family dinner had been beautiful, and reuniting with Kiada had been everything she wanted, but Evie and Deimos’ engagement - for all the joy it had inspired in her - had also made her a little too introspective. Paired with the long and laborious repairs of the jail, she hadn’t lingered long before returning to King’s End, needing to escape sooner than planned.

Sunjata’s letter on the bedside table tells her she beats him there because of it. It’s weird to realize she has begun to think of this place as another home; their bed, their schedule. Still, no matter how it intimidates her, it brings her more comfort than the loneliness implied by phrases like her bed or her house. So she makes a bundled blanket nest in the bed to feel like someone lays behind her, and she inhales Sunjata’s lingering scent to keep the nightmares at bay.

Today she sits out on the lower deck, watching the snow fall heedless of the fact it falls over her, clinging in her golden hair and turning the shoulders of her coat dark with wetness. The tea in her hands has gone cold, and her bare fingers are pink even with her Academy blessing. Her mind is too far away to warm herself with magic - she doesn’t even recall how long she’s been sitting here.

But here is where she sees Sunjata, coming up the road through the light snowfall. She rises immediately, discarding her teacup on the table and trying not to plainly show she’s hurrying as she nearly runs down the steps to shrink the distance between them. Her mind reaches for him first, only to startle and recoil slightly when she skins across something new. Something that isn’t hers to touch, like a faint radio station she’ll never bring into range. Sunny? Her lips faintly mouth his name despite there being no sound behind it, pace slowing for a moment before becoming a more purposeful, worried stride.

I used to sing about being free
Oh, baby, look what you've done to me