Chapter 84: Bonus - 1 : If- The Space Between Laughter and Want
This isn’t necessarily canon... I might make it canon. We’ll decided by the end of the book
>>Third person pov
The late afternoon sun cast golden stripes across the floor of the bedroom, filtered through the pale linen curtains that swayed softly with the breeze from the open window. Hael lay on the thick cream rug, eyes shut and limbs limp, pretending to be the latest casualty of Mage Zola the Mighty.
She sat astride his chest, a wild mess of light black waves haloing her head, her pink knight dress slightly askew, her cheeks flushed with triumph. "Got you!" she declared, thrusting her tiny fists in the air as though she had felled a giant.
Hael cracked open one eye and groaned. "Oh no. Not again. How can the greatest mage be beaten again?"
Zola collapsed in a fit of laughter, sliding down to lie beside him on the rug. Her giggles were high and unfiltered, the kind that bubbled straight out of her soul and forced a matching grin onto his face.
He turned to her, tapping her nose gently. "It seems you’re the strongest mage in all the kingdoms."
"And the fastest," she added proudly.
"And the silliest," he said, pretending to poke her belly, earning another shriek of joy. He could have stayed like this forever—her laughter in his ears, the sunlight wrapping them in warmth, the world kept at bay outside their door.
It was a sanctuary to him. One he had never even dreamed of having.
They played until her limbs grew heavy with the first hints of fatigue. Hael pulled her into his lap, rocking slowly while humming a tune she always asked for—something gentle, something old. Her small body softened against his chest, fingers curling around a lock of his shirt as her breathing began to slow.