His jaw goes tight and he can feel the familiar roil in his stomach, the anxiety that comes with something being out of his control. Something important. Declan wants to argue that he's been here for three days and this is the first time he's experienced whatever getting here did to him outside of reading about it in his file. How is he supposed to know what triggers it or how it works? How can he prepare himself when he has no idea what he's walking into? How difficult would it have been for Ronan to--

But he doesn't say anything.

Declan pushes his fingers through his hair. He is not helpless in this situation. He can do something. But how does he make it stop?

"I'm not leaving."

Whatever he did is already starting to break up. When an angry-sounding little bird streaks past his head in the dark, Declan assumes that Ronan is getting his power back. It lifts like a fog, dissipating slowly and then gone altogether.

His heart is still pounding and he's angry with himself for thinking this world would be different in principle. This is why he kept a gun under the driver's seat in his car. But he isn't armed right now and he still doesn't know the exact situation he's interrupted. Ronan's talking to the person with him. He doesn't sound like he's in pain.

Declan pushes away from the tree, moving into the clearing toward Ronan's voice and straining to listen to everything else. Movement, breathing, voices. He hates this so fucking much.