"Mnh... mmhhh—waa... Waaah! Waaah!" The cry was barely more than air, yet loud enough to stir the instincts in everyone around.
Zeke froze. He knew he’d woken little Riven. His eyes darted to the crib, then back to Ravenna. To his relief, she wasn’t looking at him, her attention was on the baby. Still, his heart thumped with unease. It wasn’t until he glanced around the room that he noticed Alaric’s death glare aid squarely at him. Zeke swallowed hard, forcing a dry laugh.
"I’ll... I’ll just wait..." he pointed vaguely toward the door "...outside." And he was gone in a blur.
Alaric slowly rose and walked to the crib. Zander and Luke were standing there, clueless, staring at the baby, unsure how to soothe him.
"I’ll... also be outside," Luke muttered, scrambling up and letting Alaric take his place.
The mont Alaric lifted little Riven into his arms, the crying stopped almost instantly. He seed to have sensed already gotten used to his father. Alaric felt extrely proud of himself.
Just as Luke was about to escape, Ravenna’s calm but firm voice cut in.
"I haven’t forgotten about the Isla issue. We’ll talk later."
"...Okay." Luke stiffened and slipped out.
Zander gave a small nod to Alaric and left quietly too.
Seth, however, remained where he was, grinning like an idiot.
"Bring him here. Let Uncle Seth hold the little guy."
Alaric’s tone turned cold. "Why are you still here?"
"I want to stay. I’m family. That’s my sister and my nephew."
Alaric sat down beside Ravenna on the bed, holding Riven protectively. "Are you dumb, or were you just born stupid?"
"...Huh?"
"I want ti alone with my family."
"I am family too."
"..."
Alaric closed his eyes, thoroughly wanting erase him.
"Waaah! Waaah!" Little Riven’s cries began anew, and Alaric’s eyes flew open in concern.
"Why are you crying, son?" he whispered, his voice soft with parental tenderness.
Seth snorted under his breath, "His father’s genes, what else."
"I heard that." Alaric’s gaze darkened. "Seems I’ve been too lenient with you. Don’t you think?"
Seth froze. Though Alaric had llowed with ti, no one forgot what he was capable of. Just because the beast slumbered didn’t an it was gone. In short, his fear for Alaric had never disappeared.
"Oi. Can’t you take a joke?" Seth said awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.
"No. Yours are just... stupid. Now, will you leave or should I escort you out myself?"
Seth wanted to fire back but faltered under one cold glance. "Sis, your husband is bullying again. Aren’t you going to defend your favorite brother?"
Ravenna sighed and gestured for Alaric to hand over Riven. "Don’t drag into your petty fights."
Dejected, Seth slumped toward the door. "No one wants anymore... Poor . If only I had a wife to care for ..."
Once he left, Alaric returned to the bed and gently placed his arm around Ravenna’s shoulders. She looked up at him, their eyes eting with matching smiles.
"I think Seth was right," she teased, glancing at Riven, then back at him.
Alaric narrowed his eyes. That look on her face... mischievous. "Right about what?"
"Nothing." She shrugged, still smiling. "Just thought you and Riven are exactly alike. Like father, like son."
"Huh? What’s that supposed to an?"
"He cries like you."
"What?"
Ravenna chuckled. "He does."
Alaric frowned. "No. He cries like you. And I don’t cry because of a little disturbance. Actually, it should be, like mother, like son."
"Oh really? Who was the one who cried like a baby, begging on his knees—"
"Don’t."
"Why? Are you ashad?"
Alaric sighed and leaned forward, biting her lower lip gently.
"Don’t ever say that again," he murmured. "I would beg again and again... if it ans I get to be with you."
Ravenna’s smile softened. "I’m so lucky to have you." She nestled her head against his chest, quietly listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. "But he still cries like you."
Little Riven had settled into sleep again, his tiny breaths even and peaceful.
And just like that, another beautiful mory was born. One that would forever remain in their hearts.
*****
Inside a crowded club, the bass thrumd loudly, as people danced to the beat. Neon lights lit up the club though vaguely. Amid the blur, Nyx sat alone, holding a glass of alcohol. Her eyes were set on sothing far beyond the here and now.
Her presence drew glances, but none dared approach, until now.
A young man stepped through the crowd, weaving through swaying bodies and laughter-slicked tables until he stopped a foot away from her.
"Hey there," he said casually, smiling like he’d rehearsed it in the mirror.
Nyx glanced up from her glass. "Hey." Her tone was flat, polite, and uninterested. She turned her attention back to her drink, idly twirling the rim with a finger.
The young man didn’t flinch at the cold shoulder. "You co here often?"
She exhaled through her nose in amusent. "No."
He nodded, sliding onto the stool beside her as if she’d invited him. The bartender, already watching, set down another bottle in front of him as if he already knew what the man wanted.
"I’m Lucien, by the way." He cracked open the cap and lifted it. "And you?"
She sipped slowly before answering, her gaze still not on him. "Nyx.
Lucien stilled for half a second, then let out a soft chuckle. "The famous Nyx, I see."
Her eyes flicked toward him with neither surprise nor pride. Just acknowledgnt. Nyx was the only witch allowed in and out of Vetheris without a question. After all, she was the one who created the barrier surrounding Vetheris as well as the illusion that made the entire Kingdom vanish from the world’s map
"You’re quite a character. Aren’t you the one who locked us in here? So of us weak ones would have aalready died if ut weren’tfor your amazing skills."
She let her glass clink against the table. "And yet, people still rember enough to talk."
"Legends don’t die easy," Lucien said with a grin. "Especially when they sit at the bar looking like they stepped out of one."
Nyx didn’t reply. The pulse of the music rose and fell like a wave crashing just beyond her attention. She looked so far away, like the world around her wasn’t real. Maybe it wasn’t, since she has been running away from this place ever she decided to let go of Finn. However, fate jad other plans for her, it seed. What else could she do except accept it.
Lucien leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "Are you here with soone?
"No."
Lucien hesitated, then gave a small, hopeful shrug. "Mind if I keep you company?"
She turned her head slowly toward him this ti, one brow lazily raised. "Aren’t you already doing so?"
He chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Fair point."
The two sat in silence for a mont, neither speaking, just sipping from their respective bottle and glass while the club pulsed and throbbed around them. Lucien seed content to share the space, even if she wasn’t sharing much else.
He lifted his drink slightly toward hers. "To unlikely company?"
Nyx t his gaze briefly. The faintest curve touched her lips—tired, but real. She tapped her glass lightly to his. "Cheers."
And still, her thoughts drifted elsewhere—back to the silence behind Vetheris’s walls... to the sacrifices buried beneath her magic... to the mory of a na long erased. And all this, she did for one man who never cared.
But for now, she drank. It was better to forget the painful and live the present.
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