“I had to disappear,” she says softly. “I was pregnant. Alone. The Alliance had eyes everywhere, and you—” She breaks off.
“I get it,” I say gently. “I don’t blame you.”
She looks down at the floor, jaw tight. “I didn’t want Ben to grow up in the shadow of crime.”
“I don’t want that either.”
“You’re a Redscale. Youarethe shadow.”
I take a slow step forward. “I can be more than that.”
Her lip trembles.
I reach out, fingers brushing her cheek. “Is there even the smallest chance… a sliver… that you’d let me try?”
She closes her eyes, lets out a shaky breath. Then whispers?—
“There always was.”
And then I kiss her.
It’s slow at first. Careful. Like we’re rediscovering something buried deep. Her hands find my shirt, fisting in the fabric. Minecradle her face. The taste of her—cinnamon and honeyed tea—is so familiar it hurts. Like coming home to a place you weren’t sure was still standing.
The world narrows to the heat between us, the press of lips and breath and years of longing.
And for the first time in a long time, I believe in second chances.
CHAPTER 15
KAIRO
Iwake with sunlight sliding across the ceiling in lazy ribbons, the smell of cinnamon and toasted oats drifting in from the kitchen, and my lips still tingling.
He didn’t stay. He kissed me like I was the gravity holding his entire world together, and then he left.
Smart man. I wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye if he’d lingered.
I sit up slowly, the cotton sheets twisted around my legs. My fingers brush my lips, and I swear the heat of last night is still there. That kiss... it wasn’t just a kiss. It was years of yearning condensed into a few heartbeats. The kind of kiss that rewrites something inside you. Makes you look at your life and ask questions you aren’t sure you want the answers to.
And now, everything is different. But nothing’s settled.
“Mamaaaaa!” Ben’s voice tears through my inner monologue like a sonic boom, followed by the unmistakable thud-thud-thud of little feet stampeding down the hall. A second later, he launches himself onto the bed, giggling.
“Whoa!” I catch him just before he knocks into my ribs.
“You’re slow today,” he grins, peering into my face. “Were you up late reading your mushy books again?”
I force a laugh. “Something like that.”
He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling like it holds the mysteries of the universe. “Hey, Mama? Can Mr. Kuraken come for breakfast?”
The question hits like a pulse bomb. I blink.
“You want... Mr. Kuraken?” I try to keep my voice light.
“Yeah! He’s funny. And he doesn’t make the waffles too crunchy. Maliek burns 'em.”
I bite back a sigh. “He’s a busy guy, honey.”
