Cassian's POV

The afternoon sun entered through the tall windows of my study, casting long shadows across the maps and documents scattered on my desk. I'd been staring at the same report for the last hour, the words blurring together into meaningless shapes.

My mind was elsewhere. On Verity, always on Verity.

The knock at my door came as both a relief and a burden.

"Enter," I called, straightening in my chair.

The door opened, and Caleb stepped inside. He looked... nervous. My brother, who ...