The moment stretched between them, heavy and unspoken, filled with the weight of too many emotions tangled together, too many unsaid words pressing against the silence.
Elysia wasn't sure what she had expected after Zera's confession—maybe more anger, maybe another argument, maybe nothing at all—but she hadn't expected this.
She hadn't expected Zera's breath to shudder the way it did.
Hadn't expected the sudden collapse of tension in her shoulders, the way her normally sharp and steady stance seemed to break all at once.
Hadn't expected her to move closer—
And wrap her arms around her.
Elysia stiffened.
It wasn't a hesitant hug, wasn't careful or measured—it was desperate, trembling, almost clinging, like Zera was trying to hold onto something slipping through her fingers.
For a moment, Elysia couldn't move.
Zera's grip was tight, her breath uneven, her entire body shaking ever so slightly.
And then—
A soft, strangled sound.
Barely audible.
Zera was crying.
