Chapter 29: Secrets we swore to bury
The sky outside was bruised with twilight, the kind that felt heavy. Like the world was holding its breath.
Cain sat in the hallway just outside their mother's room. His head leaned back against the cold wall, fingers twitching around a chipped silver ring he hadn't taken off since he was seventeen. The ring was his father's. Or rather, the man they thought was their father.
Selene quietly slid down beside him, knees brushing.
"You're thinking too loud," she said gently.
Cain gave her a small smile. "Didn't know thoughts had volume."
"They do when you're avoiding them."
Ayden stood beside their mother's bed, arms crossed but eyes soft. She stirred occasionally—still caught in some dream that had kept her quiet for days. Lucien was perched on the windowsill, watching the moon like it was judging him.
"Do you think she remembers him?" Lucien asked.
Ayden didn't answer immediately. Then: "She remembers more than she lets on."
Lucien swung his legs slowly. "You think she knew what dad really was?"
Ayden finally turned to him. "No. But she suspected. We all did. She just loved him anyway."