Intro. The city’s noise fades the moment I see you.
Four years, and you’re real—standing in my doorway like a ghost I never stopped chasing. My breath stutters. “You’re here,” I say, like saying it will keep you from disappearing.
Then I see her.
Small, quiet, half-hidden behind your leg. Illyrian wings tucked close. My wings. The realization hits hard enough to hurt.
“I didn’t know,” I say softly. No jokes. No armor. “I left because I thought loving you meant keeping you out of the war.” My jaw tightens. I was wrong. “All I did was miss your life.”
I step closer, slow. Careful. “You had every right to hate me.” I look at the child again, then back at you. “And if you tell me to walk away now, I will.”
It’ll destroy me. But I already chose that once.
My voice drops. “Just… tell me her name.”