The suns had not yet fully risen when the Lady Selene stirred.
Her breathing, which for years had rasped like brittle reeds, flowed now in quiet rhythm. Her lashes fluttered, and Kael's heart clenched so hard he thought it might stop. He had sat through the night unmoving, an unyielding sentinel by her side, afraid that if he so much as blinked she might slip away again.
But her hand shifted weakly against the coverlet. Her lips parted, whispering a single word:
"Kael…"
It broke him.
He leaned close, clutching her hand, his forehead bowing to brush against her knuckles. "I'm here. I'm here, my star."
Her gaze sharpened, recognition dawning as her eyes truly saw him for the first time in months. "You… you haven't slept," she murmured, her voice fragile yet carrying the gentle reproach he had missed so achingly. "Always watching me. Always worrying."
Her words undid the last of his restraint. Tears brimmed in his eyes and fell freely, tracking down a face that the city only ever knew as iron and unbending will. "I thought—" His voice broke, raw, the governor stripped away to leave only a man, a husband. "I thought I'd lost you."
Selene reached up, trembling fingers brushing his tears. "Oh, my fierce Alpha," she whispered, her own eyes glistening. "Forgive me… forgive me for being weak, for leaving you alone in this sorrow."
"Never." His voice was a vow as he bent down, claiming her lips in a kiss as desperate as it was tender. She kissed him back with all the strength she could muster, years of pain dissolving into that single breathless embrace.
When at last they parted, her brow pressed to his, she smiled faintly through tears. "You've carried the weight of a dying mate for too long. I'm sorry, Kael. But I'm fine now , I can breathe again."
He closed his eyes, choking on relief, pulling her carefully into his arms as though he might anchor her to life itself.
And for a long while, they simply held each other.
....
By the time the servants entered to check upon her, Selene was sitting upright, color blooming faintly beneath her skin, her hair tumbling in disarray yet shining in the morning light.
"My Lady," the head attendant gasped, eyes filling. "You are awake!"
Selene's smile was radiant, fragile yet brimming with warmth. "I am. And I owe it to him." Her gaze sharpened, firm despite her weakness. "The boy, my love . I want to see him. Now."
Kael tried to protest, murmuring about her need for rest, but she silenced him with a look. "Please, Kael. He gave me back my life. Let me thank him with my own lips."
Kael sighed, defeated by the plea in her eyes, and nodded to the servants. "Fetch him."
...
...
In their chamber, Lio had stirred early, though Jade was already awake, sitting by the tall windowsill with the pale light outlining his small frame.
The knock came quickly. "The Lady Selene requests the boy's presence," the attendant said reverently.
Lio's face split into a triumphant grin. "I knew it! Didn't I say she'd be better by morning, Didn't I?" He puffed his chest, practically glowing. "Wait until Niamh and Amara hear—no, I'll tell them myself, and they'll see their 'little Jade' isn't just amazing, he's a legend already!" His face flushed with smug pride, as if he had brewed the potion with his own hands.
Jade arched a brow, silencing him with a glance, but Lio only clamped his mouth shut while grinning ear to ear.
Jade followed the attendant through the quiet halls, his steps measured, expression calm.
When the door to Selene's chamber opened, she was waiting.
The Lady of Nexus—once the picture of fading fragility—now sat upright against her pillows, eyes clear, her cheeks touched with the faintest bloom of life. The moment she saw him, her breath caught.
Silver-white hair framed his small face, his eyes like pale starlight—ethereal, unreal, almost celestial. Yet what struck her most was the softness of his features, the delicate beauty that seemed too tender for a world as cruel as theirs.
"Oh…" Her voice broke on a whisper. Awe widened her gaze. "By the heavens. You're… you're so beautiful."
Jade froze, caught entirely off guard by her words, by the warmth flooding from her despite her frailty.
She reached out a trembling hand, smiling through tears, her tone bright and overflowing with affection. "Come closer, little one. Let me see the face of the child who returned me to the living."
Her cheer, her softness, her unrestrained adoration—it struck Jade like a blow he had not prepared for. He had braced himself for formality, gratitude, perhaps reverence. But this… this was maternal warmth unshackled, fawning, unfiltered.
Even Kael, still holding her steady, let out a low laugh, avoiding Jade's gaze while thinking ' I should have warned him.'
...
....
Jade stood frozen, his carefully kept calm splintering as Selene's radiant eyes fixed on him. The rush of warmth in her voice, the unfiltered delight in her gaze, it was too much. Heat rose unbidden to his cheeks, staining his pale face crimson.
Selene gasped softly, then laughed through her tears, delighted. "Oh, look at him—he blushes!"
Kael's low chuckle joined hers. He shook his head, hiding the curve of a smile. "I should have warned you, little one. My wife has a habit of overwhelming people."
Jade's lips parted, but no words came. He glanced aside, desperately wishing Lio were here to distract her with his loud bragging—or Niamh to fold her arms and shield him from this relentless praise. Instead, he stood alone beneath the weight of Selene's affection, crimson to the tips of his ears.
Selene, undeterred, reached out. Her trembling fingers brushed against his silvery hair, tucking a stray lock behind his ear. "Too beautiful," she whispered, as though speaking to herself, but her eyes brimmed with tears of gratitude. "And yet stronger than any child should be. Forgive me, dear one—I cannot help myself."
Jade's throat tightened. He wasn't unused to affection—Niamh smothered him with it, Lio never left his side—but this… this was different. This was the wife of Nexus's governor, looking at him as though he were something precious beyond reason.
His face burned hotter. He wanted to say something, anything, but only managed a stiff bow of his head. "I only brewed a potion, Lady Selene. Nothing more."
Selene laughed softly, shaking her head. "Nothing more, he says. And yet here I sit, alive." Her hand squeezed Kael's as if to anchor herself, but her gaze never left Jade.
Kael, still amused, lifted his chin slightly at the boy. His smile was faint, but his eyes were intent—already weighing, already thinking.
And Jade stood there, flustered, crimson, wishing the ground might swallow him whole. His ears burned hotter, and he shuffled a fraction closer, unsure whether he wanted to sink into the floor or melt under her gaze. He opened his mouth to protest, but all that came out was a small, awkward, almost inaudible: "I… I only—"
"Shh," Selene said softly, cutting him off with a warm smile that left him trembling. "You did enough. You did everything. Do not diminish it."
Kael's eyes softened slightly, still observing, still careful, but the hint of a smile tugged at his lips. Jade's blush deepened, and he dared not meet Selene's gaze again, caught entirely off guard by the sheer force of her unfiltered admiration.
For a long moment, the three of them stood there in quiet, the air thick with relief, awe, and the faint, overwhelming warmth of a child who had done the impossible—and the woman whose life he had returned.
Selene's hand lingered a moment longer against Jade's hair before exhaustion forced her fingers to fall back into her lap. But even then, her eyes did not leave him. It was as if she feared he might vanish should she look away.
Kael eased her gently against the pillows, his large hands steadying her frail frame. "Enough for now," he murmured, though his tone was more tender than firm. "You've only just awakened. Don't spend what strength you've only regained."
Selene turned her head toward him, her lips curving faintly. "Kael, love, you think me so fragile still. But I'm fine now. Really!, I breathe without pain." She inhaled deeply as if to prove it, wonder lighting her gaze. "I thought I would never again feel such air in my chest. And it is because of him." Her eyes flicked once more to Jade, luminous, unrelenting.
The boy shifted uneasily under her regard, fingers curling at his sides. "Lady Selene…" His voice was small, careful, a thread of protest beneath his measured calm. "Truly, it was nothing miraculous. It was only craft."
Selene gave a soft, disbelieving laugh that sent tears welling fresh in her eyes. "Craft? Little one, even our greatest alchemists could not find such a remedy. And yet you did, at your age…" She trailed off, her throat tight with emotion. "No, do not diminish it. You saved me. You gave me back to him."
Kael's arm tightened briefly around her shoulders at those words, his gaze sharp on Jade once more. A strange light flickered in his eyes—something between gratitude, calculation, and curiosity. "The boy is modest," he said, his voice low, steady. "Too modest, perhaps."
Jade dared a glance at him, feeling the weight of that appraisal settle heavily against his skin. The governor's eyes were not Selene's; they did not brim with affection or awe. They studied, measured, as if every breath Jade took revealed another secret thread waiting to be pulled.
A faint tremor passed through Selene's fingers as she clasped her husband's hand. "Do not frighten him, Kael. He is a child, no matter what miracles he weaves." Her gaze softened again as it turned back to Jade. "Come here, closer, before I tire. I want to see you clearly."
Jade hesitated, heat still clinging stubbornly to his cheeks. Yet something in her plea—fragile, earnest, unshakably warm—pulled him forward. Slowly, reluctantly, he stepped nearer until the morning light fell fully across his features.
Selene's breath caught again. "Oh, stars…" she whispered. The tears broke free then, streaming silently down her cheeks. She reached, and this time her hand did not falter until her palm cupped his face. "Such eyes…"
Jade flinched ever so slightly at the touch, at the words. He willed his expression into stillness.
But Selene only wept softly, her thumb brushing his cheek as though to reassure herself he was real.
The silence deepened, filled with the sound of Selene's fragile breath, Kael's steady heartbeat beside her, and Jade's own pulse thundering in his ears.
Then Selene smiled, radiant through her tears. "Promise me, little one," she whispered. "Promise you'll stay safe. That you'll let the world treasure you, not break you."
Jade's throat closed, no answer forming on his tongue. To promise such a thing… when he already knew the world had no mercy for children like him…
But Selene looked at him with such desperate hope that he found himself nodding, faintly, awkwardly, crimson still staining his cheeks.
Her smile widened, bright and fragile. "Good. Then I can rest easy."
Kael exhaled slowly, his eyes never leaving the boy. "He will be safe," he said at last, voice like iron. "My love, you don't know who you're holding so carelessly." Earning him a glare from his wife.
...