The sun was already low, painting the Grove in shades of gold and lavender by the time I finally wandered back to the main path. My hair was still damp from the brook, and I could still feel Caelum’s touch lingering on my skin. Sweet, comforting, and yet” complicated.

I hadn’t told Caelum where I was going or explained because, honestly, I didn’t even know myself. I’d just needed to breathe for a moment without feeling his eyes on me, waiting for something I wasn’t sure I knew how to give yet. Caelum hadn’t stopped me when I’d left; he’d simply watched me go, quiet acceptance in his gaze. Somehow that had hurt even more. It’s easier to leave when someone fights you on it, harder when they trust you’ll return on your own.

Yet as I rounded the corner, I stopped short, heart tightening sharply at the sight of Kael standing alone by the stone circle—the place we’d carefully planted seedlings for a future we still weren’t sure would ever grow. A new ache settled in my chest, and I didn’t know what it was.

Kael turned toward me even before I made a sound, as if he felt me the same way I always felt him, like a heartbeat too close, an ache I couldn’t shake even when we’d drifted apart. He didn’t say anything, just watched me carefully, those stormy green eyes so unreadable. His body was tense, his shoulders tight, like he was preparing himself for me to leave him again.

But there was hope there, too and it was impossible to hide completely.

Taking a shaky breath, I stepped closer, suddenly shy. It was strange, feeling shy around Kael. We’d known each other our entire lives, and yet here I was, nervous like we’d just met. It was still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that he was my mate. Kael had always been there protecting me more than anyone else had done my entire life, but I’d never imagined this. Now, the bond sang quietly in my soul whenever he was near, a constant reminder of something I hadn’t fully embraced.

He didn’t move away as I closed the distance between us.

“I went to the tower,” I finally said softly. “Caelum showed me what he built for Damien and Fabian.”

Kael’s expression changed immediately at Damien’s name, pain and guilt shadowing his eyes, a sadness he carried silently every day. My heart bled for him. I knew how badly it haunted him, that he’d been the one forced to end the life of one of his oldest and closest friends. Only the three of us knew the truth of how Damien had died. Kael had carried that burden without complaint, never speaking of it, never even able to tell Marrick what really happened.

“I would’ve gone with you,” he said quietly after a moment. “If you’d asked me.”

I shook my head, throat tight. “I couldn’t face you both. Not yet. Not after’”

“I know,” he murmured, stepping a little closer. “I knew you needed time. I just didn’t know how long to wait.”

“You didn’t have to wait,” I whispered, guilt washing over me all over again. “I never asked you to. You could have told me you were tried of waiting.”

He shook his head. “You never had to ask, Luna. I owed you the time.”

Hearing him say that hurt me deeply. He wouldn’t feel that way if the guilt of Damien wasn’t eating at him.

Silence stretched between us again, thick and full of all the things we’d never said but felt so deeply. Things like, I chose you. I still choose you. Even when it hurts. Even when it breaks me. The words sat heavily in the quiet.

Slowly, carefully, I reached out, letting my fingers brush softly against his arm. His skin was warm and familiar, comforting in a way I hadn’t expected.

Kael didn’t pull back. Instead, he drew me into his arms, holding me gently, pressing my cheek against his chest. His scent surrounded me, and I closed my eyes, breathing him in, my body melting into his embrace.

“I saw you again,” Kael whispered against my hair, breaking the silence. “In the Vale. After the fight.”

My heart jolted. “What did you see?”

“You and Damien,” he said quietly, carefully, as if each word hurt a little to say. “The last night at the compound. Before everything fell apart. I saw how you looked at him. And how he looked at you.”

My breath caught painfully in my throat, and fresh guilt flooded through me. “Kael—I’m so sorry’”

“No, Luna. Don’t,” he interrupted gently. “Damien deserved to be loved like that. And you deserved to love him without guilt. You don’t owe me regret.”

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. “We’re here now. That’s what matters.”

Tears stung my eyes, and one slipped free, hot down my cheek. Kael’s thumb brushed it away gently.

“I’m still yours,” he said softly. “I always have been. Every single piece of me that’s left is yours.”

My chest tightened again, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. Kael didn’t lean in to kiss me right away. Instead, he studied me, like I was an enigma he’d wanted desperately for so long but feared he might break if he wasn’t careful enough.

But the moment didn’t hold still for long. Before I knew it, our lips met, and there was nothing gentle or cautious about it. Not with Kael as it seemed. His kiss was fierce, desperate, full of everything he’d ever held back when he yearned for me.

One step, then another, and suddenly my back pressed against the rough bark of a tree. He lifted me easily, like he’d been dreaming of this for years, and my legs wrapped instinctively around his waist.

“Luna,” he rasped against my throat, voice full of need and barely controlled restraint.

I cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “No more waiting.”

That was all it took.

His kiss deepened, turning fierce, hungry—like it physically hurt him to hold back another second. His hands were everywhere—my hips, my thighs, under the hem of my blouse—and I arched into him, desperate for more, for all of it.

Clothing disappeared in frantic movements, falling away as easily like they were sins we no longer needed to carry.

He laid me down gently on the bed of soft moss beneath the Grove’s oldest tree, and paused only briefly to look at me like I was the moon and he’d finally reached it.

When he moved again, every touch was intense, every kiss urgent. He whispered my name like a prayer, and I whispered his back like salvation. When we finally came undone, it was powerful, overwhelming, like we’d been holding our breath for months and finally remembered how to breathe.

We lay tangled together afterward, the soft moss under us cool against my bare skin. I rested my head against Kael’s chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath my cheek. It was strangely comforting, almost hypnotic, as if its strong, reassuring beat could chase away every fear still lingering inside me.

The Grove was quiet now, peaceful under the twilight sky. The air around us felt thick with the scent of earth and pine, mixing with the warm, familiar smell of Kael. I closed my eyes, trying to hold onto this feeling. It was rare to find a moment of peace, even rarer to trust that it would last.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Kael whispered softly. His voice was barely louder than the gentle breeze rustling through the leaves above us. It was strange, hearing the quiet vulnerability in his voice, feeling the ache behind his words. Kael never showed weakness, not to anyone, not even to me. But here, in this quiet moment, he was raw and open, trusting me with a part of himself he usually kept hidden.

I shifted slightly, turning my head so I could see him better, my heart squeezing painfully at his confession. “What?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him correctly or if my mind was playing tricks.

Kael brushed a gentle kiss into my hair, pulling me closer against his chest. His voice was deeper now, rougher with the emotions he was trying so hard to control. “After the Vale, when everything fell apart—I thought you wouldn’t find your way back to me. And the truth is, Luna, I couldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I’ve always felt like you were mine to lose.”

How could he possibly think that? After everything we’d been through, after everything he’d done for me, how could he still believe he wasn’t enough?

“Kael,” I said fiercely, pushing myself up to look into his eyes, gripping him tightly so he’d have to face me. “Listen to me. We’re mates. You feel the bond, right? You should be able to feel how much I want you, how much I need you. You could never lose me. Never.”

He stared at me, his eyes so soft yet guarded, like he was afraid I might vanish if he blinked too fast.

“You’ve always been there, Kael,” I went on urgently. “Always. I think my real fear was that—if you hadn’t shown up in the Grove when you did, we might never have discovered we were mates. We might have gone our whole lives without knowing what this bond felt like. That thought terrifies me.”

He drew in a slow breath, eyes filled with so much tenderness it nearly broke me. His hand came up to gently brush my hair back from my face, his thumb softly stroking my cheek. “When I found you there, Luna—when the bond finally clicked into place—I was terrified,” he admitted quietly, his voice strained with honesty. “For years, I’ve wanted you so badly that I cursed the goddess every single night for not matching us sooner. I watched you, every day, struggling with being a Baudelaire, fighting battles that no one else could understand. I wanted you to be mine, but I couldn’t burden you with what I wanted—not until you were ready.”

“Burden me?” I shook my head, my voice catching in my throat, sitting up straighter so I could face him properly. My heart felt like it was cracking open, spilling out everything I’d held back for far too long. “Kael, nothing about you is a burden. You’ve been my strength through every dark moment, even when I was too stubborn or blind to notice it. You’ve always deserved better than me.”

He stared at me. “I only ever wanted was you, exactly as you are, stubbornness and all.”

Tears stung my eyes, blurring my vision. I’d thought I could only love one way or choose one path. Damien’s death had left a hole in my heart I didn’t believe anyone else could ever fill. How could I fill that empty space without betraying his memory?

“Kael,” I whispered, suddenly unable to meet his eyes, guilt washing over me all over again. “I still feel guilty. About Damien. About you and me. Like—like loving you is somehow betraying him, and I’m dishonouring his memory by being happy with you.”

Kael cupped my chin gently, urging me to look up at him again. His eyes were serious and compassionate. “Loving again doesn’t mean you loved Damien any less. He loved you fiercely. He deserved every bit of love you gave him. Loving me now doesn’t erase that, and it doesn’t dishonour him. Damien wouldn’t have wanted you to live your life trapped in grief and guilt. He would’ve wanted you to find happiness again. I believe that—I have to.”

My breath hitched, and a tear finally slipped free. Kael caught it gently with his thumb, wiping it away as if it was precious.

“How do you know?” I whispered brokenly, desperate for reassurance. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because Damien loved you deeply,” Kael said firmly, confidently, with no hint of doubt. “And that means he’d want you to live fully, even without him. Especially without him.”

So he did know about Damien’s feelings for me, and I was the only one who didn’t know it.

“I miss him,” I whispered, the words raw and aching.

“I do too,” he replied, his voice thick with shared grief. “Every day. He was my friend, my brother, and I had to’” He paused, eyes closing briefly, clearly haunted. “I would’ve done anything to change that moment. To spare him. To spare you that pain.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I said fiercely, gripping his hand tightly. “None of us could control what happened there.”

“I know,” Kael said quietly. “But knowing doesn’t make it easier to live with.”

Silence settled around us again, but it felt healing, like we were finally sharing a burden we’d both been trying to carry alone.

“I don’t regret being with you,” I said finally. I needed him to hear it clearly. “I need you to know that. Even through all this pain, even with everything we’ve lost, I’d still choose you.”

Kael’s eyes softened further, a rare vulnerability shining through the carefully guarded armour he always wore. “I chose you a long time ago, Luna. I think part of me chose you the first time I ever saw you fight, the first time you refused to bow to anything or anyone. You’ve always been my choice, even when you didn’t see me.”

“I see you now,” I whispered softly, pressing my forehead to his, breathing him in deeply. “I see you, Kael. And I won’t ever look away again.”

We stayed like that for a while, wrapped up in each other’s arms, the Grove around us whispering quiet secrets of healing and hope. Eventually, Kael broke the quiet, his voice gentle but teasing, trying to lighten the mood.

“So, does this mean you’re finally done running away from me every time I get too close?” he asked.

I laughed softly, the sound easing something deep inside me. “I think I’m finally done running, yes. It’s exhausting.”

He chuckled, pressing another soft kiss against my forehead. “Good. Because chasing you is exhausting too.”

I smiled, closing my eyes again, feeling safe for the first time in forever. “I promise to make it just a bit easier on you.”

He squeezed me gently, murmuring against my hair, “Don’t make it too easy. I think I like chasing you more than I’d care to admit.”

Laughing quietly, I nestled deeper into his embrace. The shadows around us deepened as the sun sank below the horizon, but for once, I wasn’t afraid of what came next.