Ravenna paused, but she didn’t turn around.
Behind her, steps approached and Alari stood before her.
Alaric stopped a breath away and asked, his voice low but biting, "Are you really willing to leave your son behind... to save an insignificant man?"
Her chest tightened. That word, insignificant, cut deeper than she expected. Was Liam insignificant? He had done a lot of mistakes, but could he be blad for it? Only she should. Apart from that, he was once a person who helped her when she and her brothers were in need. He was her friend. So, he was not insignificant. She scoffed quietly and bitterly, but she still didn’t say anything to Alaric. If she spoke now, she might regret her words later.
She tried to pass him, needing space before she shattered completely. But Alaric’s hand shot out again, catching hers. In one swift motion, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly and possessively.
"I won’t allow you to go anywhere," he said, his breath brushing her face.
She didn’t resist, but she didn’t lean in either.
Her eyes stared blankly at the wall behind him, unmoving. There was no heat in her limbs, no tremble of affection like before. Just silence and disbelief, and a distant ache.
She wasn’t looking at her husband. Not the Alaric who had once shielded her from the world with calm words and gentle strength for the past seven months. This was the version she had t in the beginning. The cold, commanding and distant Alaric. Was she being too much and causing him to stray away? She felt disappointed in herself.
She didn’t miss that cold man who always drove fears into her nerves. Not even a little.
Alaric felt it too. The mont his eyes t hers, sothing inside him wavered. The look she gave him was as if she were seeing a stranger. And worse, she seed disappointed. Maybe in him?
His grip loosened, arms falling away from her almost clumsily.
"I..." he began, guilt surfacing at last, but Ravenna beat him to it, vanishing any sense of regret he felt earlier.
"That man might be insignificant to you," she said, her voice soft but unwavering, "but to , he’s not. He’s a friend, and we don’t abandon friends."
"It was because of that his life turned into a living hell. Because of , he beca a blood-sucking creature against his will. You think I can forget that?"
Alaric stayed silent. What could he say to that? He was angry but still understood her predicant. Angry that she was willing to risk everything to save so other man and understanding the weight of guilt she felt, because he had lived with it for centuries too.
"If I don’t at least try to pull him out from the Lycan King’s clutches... then I’ll never be able to forgive myself," she continued.
"Every ti I look at the past, I’ll be reminded of what I failed to do instead of what I managed to do. And that guilt... that guilt will eat alive."
Her voice cracked slightly, just enough to let the emotion slip through. Her emotions had taken over fully and now, her heart was in control. It didn’t matter what he said, but she wouldn’t let him be a hindrance.
"I’m not asking you to understand. Not anymore. Do whatever you want, Alaric. But you can’t stop . Whether you like it or not, I’ll help Liam."
She turned again, ready to walk out, determined to do sothing to rescue Liam.
But Alaric’s patience snapped due to her last statent. He grabbed her by the upper arms, rougher than he intended, his voice thundering, "Don’t test my patience, Ravenna."
His eyes flashed red. Not the kind of red that ca from hunger or thirst, but rage. Pure territorial rage.
But Ravenna didn’t flinch, she didn’t cry, nor did she beg. She simply looked at his hands, then up at him, her eyes strangely calm, and then began to pull his grip off her arm, one finger at a ti.
Alaric let go, almost dazed by her composure.
She stepped back, her eyes unreadable. "You’re not the man I know," she whispered.
Alaric didn’t respond. He stood frozen as she turned and walked toward the doors again.
But just before she could push them open, his voice rang out.
"If you leave Vetheris, don’t co back."
Ravenna stopped abruptly.
"You’ll never get to see your son again."
Silence crashed over the courtroom like a wave of ice.
Ravenna didn’t turn around this ti nor did she speak.
Her hand trembled slightly on the handle, and slowly, a single tear rolled down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it imdiately and let it fall.
Alaric stood where he was, breathing hard but trying to steady himself. He hadn’t ant it. Gods, he hadn’t ant a single word of that. He just... he didn’t want her to go. He was desperate.
But those words had already been spoken, and words once said can’t be taken back so easily.
’You’ll never see your son again.’ Those words echoed into Ravenna’s mind over and over again.
On the other hand, Alaric felt regret surge in, drowning him. What had he done? He wanted to apologise but couldn’t say anything.
At the door, Ravenna finally reached up and brushed the tear away. A deep, soul-wrenching ache spread through her chest, not just from what Alaric said, but from what he ant.
He was making her choose. Her son... or her conscience. How cruel.
She didn’t look back and didn’t offer another word. She opened the doors and walked out, leaving behind the man whom she had thought would be her strength in every step of her way, but now, he was in her way. Since he had already made his last decision, he shouldn’t bla her when she made hers.
Alaric stood in the now-empty courtroom, his hands clenched into fists, a thousand thoughts rushing through his head. But none louder than the silence she left behind. He felt restless, confused and guilty. He let his anger get the best of him and uttered sothing he would never even dare do. Not even in his wildest nightmare. He would never seperate a child from his mother.
***
They say never make utter words when angry.
Never make a haste decison when your heart is twisted in pain, when your soul is a storm of grief and pride.
Because in those monts, you’ll destroy the very thing you were trying to hold onto.
And that, was their biggest mistake.
One that would cost them more than either of them could have imagined.
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