CHAPTER 271: CAN WE TALK?

[Old world – A room with a view (second floor)...Blackmoon Stronghold]

Autumn stood by a tall, wide window.

Her hands pressed against the cold frame, her forehead leaning just barely against the glass.

She saw the smoke rising in long, twisting ribbons, far on the horizon.

They curled upward into the heavy night like prayers never answered.The faint orange flickers still glowed at the shore far below...the funeral pyres...burning until nothing would remain.

Her chest rose once.

Then again.

Each breath a drag against her ribs.

Her lips parted. A single word slipped out, barely a breath, barely a sound.

"Lyla..."

The smoke trembled in her blurred vision as her lashes dampened.

The tear didn’t fall at first. It clung to her cheek, shimmering in the faint lamplight...until it finally slid down, cutting a warm trail down to her jaw.

Her voice came soft but steady, as if speaking to the fire itself.

"Don’t worry about your little one, Lyla. I will take care of her. I will love Willa more than I will ever love my own children, if that’s what it takes. I will make sure she never feels alone...I will not let her feel your absence..."

Her throat caught. She swallowed hard, then turned her gaze higher, to where the smoke stretched into the stars.

"Orion..."

His name cracked out of her like glass snapping under pressure.

Her jaw quivered but her voice did not falter.

"If Father is alive, I will find him. I will find out the truth. I will tear it out of every shadow this world hides. I will bring back Skarthheim’s lost glories. I swear it. On my blood, on my bones, I swear on the Moon. "

Her oath lingered in the chamber, as if even the stone walls listened.

For a moment...just a moment...it felt like the smoke too paused outside the glass, as though carrying her vow skyward.

But then... Knock. Knock.

There was a muffled sound against the heavy oak door.,followed by a low clearing of a throat.

"Ahem... ahem."

Autumn blinked, startled, twisting her head slightly.The shadows behind her shifted.

There, leaning against the doorframe, stood Kieran.

His broad shoulders seemed to slump in the dim light, his hair fell slightly across his brow. His golden eyes looked so heavy...drenched with something softer, sadder than tears.

He tried to smile. It tugged at the corner of his lips, faint, forced...yet it cracked under the weight of what lingered in his gaze.

For a long heartbeat, he just stayed there, watching her with a longing he couldn’t hide.

Then slowly, almost hesitantly, he pushed himself upright.

His voice came low, careful, almost afraid of breaking her fragile stillness.

"...May I come in?"

The silence stretched between them.

Kieran lingered in the doorway waiting for her answer.

His shoulders were taut, as though his whole body fought a war within itself.

His instincts screamed at him...to blur the distance, to pin her against that cold stone wall,

to pour out the ache that had chewed through him in her absence.

The words literally clawed at his throat..."I suffered without you. I bled without you. I died a thousand times without you.Autumn... I can’t believe you are finally back... "

But his jaw clenched.

And instead...he drew in a slow breath, stepped one pace forward, and asked, softly...

"...How are you doing?"

The question was small, pitiful compared to the storm behind his eyes.

He swallowed, gaze flicking away for only a moment before dragging back to her.

"Autumn...I am sorry...so damn sorry..." His voice broke low, strained.

Autumn’s head jerked slightly.Her eyes flashed.

She turned bodily towards him now, her hand still pressed against the window frame, her knuckles pale...her brows frowned.

Then her lips curved...not in a smile, but a sharp, bitter edge.

"Sorry?" she repeated, her tone laced with fire. "Sorry for exactly what, Kieran Blackmoon?"Her voice cracked but didn’t falter.

Her eyes glistened under the faint lantern glow, but she didn’t look away.

She faced him like a blade unsheathed.

Kieran froze.

Her sudden blast knocked the air from his chest.

His lips parted...breath stuttered, caught...words clawed to escape but tripped over one another.

"I am...I mean..." His gaze darted helplessly between her eyes, his throat working as though each effort hurt. He didn’t know where he ought to start. " Autumn..." Her name came out as a gasp, a plea...his hand stretched to touch her trembling fingers...steady them if she would let him. "I am sorry for...everything."

His voice came out raw.Bare.

The only truth he had strength to speak.

He took another step, his jaw set, something more unravelling on his tongue...

Just when...

"Dada... Dada... where are you?"

The little voice rang down the hall, so soft...searching.

Both their heads snapped towards the sound.

Tiny footsteps pattered quickly against stone.

And then...at the door frame...little Freya appeared.

Her small adorable face peeked in, eyes wide, curls tumbling as she clutched the side of the doorway.

"Dada...there you are..." she said again, her voice hopeful, breaking the tension in that room like a knife through fog.

The air in the chamber shifted.

The words Kieran hadn’t yet spoken died on his lips.

But Autumn’s eyes lingered on him, unreadable, her chest still rising hard against the quiet... before they settled on the little baby in front of them.

Freya turned around... sharp... then looked up at Autumn and pointed. " Dada... who is she?"

Kieran looked at Autumn... she looked back... then he heaved a deep sigh before lowering himself at Freya’s level.

" Freya... Willa is really scared. She wouldn’t even talk to me. Would you mind taking care of her a little? Take Jasper with you too. See if the two of you can talk to her and calm her down. Alright? " Then he turned around at Autumn before turning back to face Freya again. " This person right here...is the most important person in your Dada’s life. But I think we can talk about that in the morning. Alright? You kids should get some rest... it’s been... a really long night... "