---
"I never imagined wanting to be seen like that. Until I met him. Until he marked me. I want to be strong, but I also want to be... soft. I want someone to protect me not because I am weak, but because I matter. But I do not know if there is space in his heart for someone like me."
Silence followed. Not awkward silence. Not cold. The kind that lingered because two people had opened something they were not supposed to. Something quiet and too real to laugh away.
Then, without a word, Azhara reached over and gently placed her hand on Lirien's. "You know, for someone who acts like a metal cube, you really know how to twist the heart."
Lirien gave a shaky smile. "Sorry."
"Do not be. That was poetic. If you ever stop forging weapons, I will hire you to write romantic drama scrolls. You can call it 'The Sad Smith's Seduction methods.'"
Lirien chuckled once, caught off guard.
