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"And I can promise," he added, more softly now, "that I will not dismiss what you need as foolish or dramatic.” He brushed his thumb along her cheek. "You were not foolish," he said. "You were just asking to be loved properly."

The room felt very still, as if her life was at crossroads.

"And I am late," he admitted. "But I am here. And I am begging for a second chance."

The vulnerability in that admission shifted something inside her. The book no longer felt like a relic of disappointment; it felt like proof of him trying in ways she had never expected.

"There is one thing I did not fail at," he said steadily.

She watched him carefully.

"I have been loyal," he said. "From the moment I laid eyes on you, there has never been anyone else. Not in thought, not in my heart."

The certainty in his voice left no room for doubt.

He took the notebook gently from her hands and slipped out a folded piece of paper tucked between its pages. She recognised it immediately. It was the letter she had left behind. All her rage and exhaustion in those words. He unfolded it carefully.

"This," he said, his voice roughening, "gutted me."

His eyes were dark in the lamplight. "And I deserved every word."

He set the paper aside and cupped her face gently in both hands.

There was no rush this time.

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her slowly at first. The kiss built gradually, not frantic but consuming, until her fingers curled into his shoulders and she found herself clinging without meaning to.

When he finally pulled back, she was breathless.

"You are very talkative," she murmured, attempting a faint smile. "Especially during...moments like this. You never used to talk when we...you know..."

He did not smile.

"You can't take this back," he said quietly. "I am not letting you go after this."

Her teasing faded.

"I am so insanely jealous of Kenji," he admitted.

The honesty of it made her blink, and she couldn't help the small curl of satisfaction in her belly.

"I want to drag you back north with me," he continued. "Lock the door. Keep you where nothing and no one can reach you." His jaw was tight as if the thought of separating from her made him ill.

"But it is more important that you are safe."

The words cost him greatly.

"So I can only hope..." His voice dropped slightly. "That you will wait."

The vulnerability in that request was sharper than any demand he could have made.

Chapter 44

The time of their departure arrived too quickly.

Blaidd and Fae walked hand in hand toward the village gates. The path felt shorter than it ever had before, every step heavy with the knowledge that the moment of parting waiting at the end could not be delayed.

The gates stood open, the road still bright with the fading light of dusk.