Jaenor stood before Baren, and then Baren reached out and pinched Jaenor's cheek, his fingers pressing against the warm skin as if to convince himself that this was not some elaborate dream or illusion.
"You're real?" he asked, voice low, disbelieving. "You're actually real."
Jaenor gave a soft, knowing smile.
"Yeah… I'm real."
Baren let out a quiet chuckle, the sound shaky with emotion. He still couldn't believe it—after everything, here Jaenor was, standing before him, alive and solid.
Not a dream, not a shadow from the past.
Baren chuckled softly, shaking his head in amazement. "I thought you were dead. Morgana said you were dead."
"Well, I'm alive and kicking."
"I know," he said quietly.
But before more could be said, Odessa's voice cut through the moment like a blade wrapped in silk.
"As touching as this reunion is," she said dryly, arms crossed as she glared at the onlookers, "people are staring, and we need to move. You've already made enough of a scene for the day."