Lucian’s POV
The tears and emotions Kael had been trying so hard to hold back finally spilled out, breaking free like a dam that had reached its final limit. His breath trembled, his shoulders shaking as everything he had been holding escaped him.
"I am sorry..." he mumbled, the words choking him, barely audible. "...I am sorry... Eira..."
In response she could only cry harder, her memories resurfacing painfully, ripping through her composure.
No apology in this world could erase what she had endured, yet those three words were all any of us had. ’We are sorry’ the only thing to offer in front of a wound too deep, too unfair.
The four of us stood frozen in our places, each fighting our own storm of emotions, our own tears that refused to stop. What could we possibly do to take even a fraction of her pain away?
If Kael hadn’t needed to speak with her, I would have gone to her and pulled her into my arms, to give her even the smallest sense of comfort. And I knew—without question—the other three felt the same.
Jason, who had been like an emotionless rock for the past six years as if all kinds of emotions had died inside him, I saw him turning to face away and wiping his tears.
Regret. Guilt. Pain. It was etched into each one of us, like punishment carved with fire.
"Trust me... I never meant to hurt you..." Kael’s voice cracked, heavy with agony. "I would rather die myself. If I had even a flicker of awareness... even a moment of realization of what I was doing that night, drugged or not... I would never have touched you. I loved you even back then..." His voice broke completely, his throat closing. "...I would never have hurt you..."
Kael held her hands tightly in his, clinging to her as though losing her would end him. His head bowed over their joined hands, tears falling freely as grief and guilt suffocated him. The rest of his words never made it past his lips.
With teary eyes, she simply watched him. Then, slowly, she slipped one of her hands free and moved it... to his head.
All of us went still.
She caressed him gently.
"I know... I can feel it..." she whispered, her voice soft, trembling yet strangely steady.
What did she mean? Could she truly feel his sincerity? His regret? His love? Or was it something tied to their bond?
Kael lifted his head, stunned.
It should have been her moment to break, her moment to crumble under the weight of everything she had endured... yet she didn’t. Instead, she wiped his tears with trembling fingers and whispered again,
"I know you never lie," she said again.
We were stunned speechless—not just Kael.
"I didn’t say anything because I had no expectations from my life. All I wanted was to die. That’s the only thing I could think of."
Her voice was soft, yet every word felt like a blade carving into all of us. She wasn’t saying it for pity — she was stating it like a fact she had lived with far too long.
"But now you have expectations. Now you have life. You can curse me, show your anger and hate for what I did with you," Kael said, his voice trembling, almost pleading for punishment he believed he deserved.
"No use. I don’t want to go back there. And I am so used to pain that nothing hurts me anymore," she said, sounding like someone far older than her years. "If I ever want something from you, it is my son. Just give me that and I will be good," she said, trying to wipe away tears that wouldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. "I only want my son."
Mere the mention of her son could bring all her emotions out, and wipe away the hatred in her heart and mind. He was truly her hope to her salvation.
Kael nodded, trying to get back to his senses. "Your son. That’s our son. He..."
"I know I am not well," she interrupted him, before he could say more. Her voice wavered, but she forced herself to speak. "When you think so much about Raven and keep him away from me, I am sure you won’t let our son be close to me as well."
"Eira..." he tried to speak, but..
"I accept that I am not well." She interrupted again as if she was afraid Kael would truly keep her son away from her. "So, you can keep our son somewhere safe. When you feel I am fine, you can bring him to me. Maybe when Raven accepts me as his mother, that would be enough for you to know that I am alright. Isn’t it?"
Her red teary eyes were hopeful. "Until then, look after him. I will wait for him."
I could see Kael wanted to tell her the truth about Raven but...
"If you are so determined to get better, then I should not fail your resolve," Kael told her quietly, his voice steadying with purpose. "And when you feel you are entirely fine, you will see our son right in front of you."
Her breath hitched — and her eyes glimmered like that one sentence was the first warm sunlight she’d seen in years.
A trembling lips curved into a light smile. "I will wait."
"Will there be a day when you won’t hate me anymore?" Kael asked, his voice small — something I had never expected from him.
"I hated everyone that hurt me, but I don’t remember anyone except for you. Because you were someone I knew and it hurt me more." She was being honest finally.
"But now I don’t know if I even hate anyone at all." she whispered, exhausted — not just physically, but in the way a soul grows tired. "I just want to be at peace. I am tired of everything... Too tired."
There was a pleading in her voice now, asking to let her be at peace.