Evaline:
I squeezed Draven’s hand gently, my fingers wrapped around his cold ones as if warmth alone could will him back to .
I had been sitting beside his bed for nearly half an hour now, long enough for the silence to feel heavy, long enough for the ache in my chest to deepen instead of dull. I had co down here to bid him farewell... to tell him goodbye, to promise I would see him again during the weekend.
But my feet refused to move.
Every ti I told myself - just one more minute - that minute stretched into another. And then another.
So here I was, still perched on the small stool beside his bed, still holding his hand like letting go might an losing him all over again.
Draven lay there exactly as he had for the past two months - too still, too quiet, his chest rising and falling softly. His face was calm, almost peaceful, as if he were rely sleeping after a long, exhausting day. If soone didn’t know better, they might think he was dreaming.
I knew better.
My thumb brushed slowly over his knuckles, morizing the feel of him as if my body feared forgetting. "I’ll be back before you know it," I whispered, even though he couldn’t hear . "You better wake up soon... I don’t like doing all the talking alone."
My throat tightened.
The door behind opened softly.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
River’s presence wrapped around even before his hand ca to rest on my shoulder, warm and grounding. His voice was gentle when he spoke, but firm in the way that told he had already waited as long as he could.
"Angel," he said quietly. "It’s ti for us to leave."
My heart clenched painfully.
I nodded, though every part of resisted the motion. I didn’t want to leave. Not Draven. Not this room. Not the fragile sense of closeness I felt just by sitting here with him.
River stepped closer to the bedside, his movents careful, respectful. He reached for the small table beside Draven’s bed and pulled open the middle drawer. The soft scrape of wood against wood echoed too loudly in the silence.
He pulled sothing out.
The mont I saw it, my breath hitched.
It was Draven’s favorite keychain.
The one he always carried with him. The one he used to fidget with absentmindedly when he was thinking. I had seen it hanging from his bag more tis than I could count.
River took my hand gently and placed the keychain into my palm.
"Keep it with you," he said softly.
I curled my fingers around it imdiately, as if afraid it might disappear. The tal was cool against my skin, familiar in a way that made my chest ache all over again.
I stood slowly, my legs unsteady. Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to Draven’s cold lips, lingering there for just a second longer than necessary. I cupped his cheek with my free hand, my thumb brushing his skin.
"We are going to bring you back," I promised, my voice trembling despite my effort to keep it steady. "All of us. So you better be ready."
Then I turned away.
If I stayed even a second longer, I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave at all.
River guided out of the room, his hand firm around mine, steadying as the door closed behind us with a quiet finality.
When we reached the ground floor, Madam Elira was waiting in the living room.
And she was holding Lioren.
The mont my son saw , his entire face lit up, a bright, innocent smile stretching across his tiny features. The sight of it hit harder than I expected.
"Oh... co here, my love," I breathed.
I took him into my arms imdiately, cradling him close. His small body fit against perfectly, his warmth seeping into my chest. I kissed his cheek again and again, inhaling his scent like I needed it to survive the coming days.
"I’m going to miss you so much," I whispered into his soft hair. "Mama loves you. So, so much."
I rested his face against my collarbone, holding him tighter than necessary, committing the weight of him to mory.
After a long mont, I forced myself to pull back and handed him gently to Madam Elira.
"Take good care of him," I said, my voice thick.
She smiled warmly. "Always, my lady. I promise."
River patted Lioren softly on the head before he took my hand then, his grip reassuring, and led toward the front doors. Every step away from Lioren felt wrong, like my body was protesting a separation it didn’t understand.
Outside, he opened the back door of the car for . I slid inside, glancing back at the mansion one last ti before he joined . The driver started the engine, and the car rolled forward, slowly pulling away from the estate.
I stared out of the window as the gates lood ahead, my reflection faintly visible in the glass... my eyes shining with unshed tears I refused to let fall.
Leaving Lioren behind hurt in a way I hadn’t been prepared for. Knowing I wouldn’t be ho until the weekends, that I would miss his small changes, his expressions, the little monts that would never co back... it tore at sothing deep inside .
River’s hand ca to rest on my thigh, squeezing gently.
"I’ll take care of him," he said quietly. "And Draven too. You have my word."
I looked at him and nodded, swallowing hard.
After a mont, he glanced at again. "Are you still mad at about last night?"
I huffed softly, turning my gaze back to the window. "Don’t talk about it."
Just thinking about it made my frustration flare all over again. I had been so close. So close.
He smiled faintly but said nothing more.
The rest of the ride passed in a comfortable silence. Eventually, the car slowed and ca to a stop in front of the prison building.
River led inside, down cold stone corridors and into the dungeons. The air grew heavier with each step, the weight of what I was about to do settling over .
When we reached Marcus’s cell, I stopped.
"Wait here," I told River, turning to face him.
He opened his mouth to protest, but one look from had him sighing in resignation.
"I’ll be right outside," he said. "Call if you need ."
I nodded and only then did he open the door for .
I took in a deep breath... and then stepped inside.
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