The offer hit her unexpectedly hard.
Somewhere bright and warm, where souls found rest instead of torment. Somewhere she wouldn't have to see Dante's distance or feel the weight of her parents' suffering.
Somewhere she could breathe.
"That's very generous," she said, and meant it.
Dante's hand twitched at his side.
"The offer's always open." Caelum's voice was warm. Welcoming. Everything Dante's wasn't.
"The evidence is useful," Dante said abruptly, gathering the documents. "We should review it more thoroughly back in my domain."
"Of course." Caelum seemed unbothered. "I only wish I had discovered the pattern sooner. Perhaps we could have prevented some of the damage."
As they prepared to leave, he walked them back through thegardens toward the transport point. The souls they passed still moved with serene contentment, and the realm continued to radiate beauty.
Brynn found herself walking slower, reluctant to leave. The golden light felt like a balm after weeks of twilight. The peace felt like something she'd forgotten she needed.
Caelum paused as they reached the hilltop. "Keep me informed of your progress. If you need anything. More evidence, witnesses, or just..." He looked at Brynn specifically. "A respite from the investigation's weight. My door is always open."
"We will," Dante replied curtly, already turning toward the transport circle.
Caelum bowed to Dante in farewell, then turned to Brynn. His eyes held warmth and what might have been concern. "It's been a pleasure talking with you, Lady Brynn. I hope when this crisis passes, you'll consider visiting again under happier circumstances. You deserve rest after everything you've endured."
The words shouldn't have affected her so much.
But after crying over her parents' fate, after Dante's rejection, after carrying so much alone, having someone acknowledge that she deserved rest felt like absolution.
She glanced at Dante.
He was watching her. His face was a mask, but his shadows wound tight around his boots.
"I'd like that," she said to Caelum, letting her voice warm in a way she hadn't allowed it to warm for Dante all day. "Very much."
Pain cracked through Dante's expression. His shadows whipped around his feet, agitated and wild.
Caelum's smile brightened. "I look forward to it."
Dante turned sharply toward the transport circle without a word.
She followed, but slowly. Taking her time, making him wait.
As they stepped into the transport circle, the realm began to fade. The light dimmed, the warmth receded, and Brynn felt reality settling back onto her shoulders like a familiar weight.
She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead.
But she felt his eyes on her the whole time.
The golden light disappeared.
The eternal twilight of the Forsaken realm closed around them once more.
XLVIII.
DANTE
Dante stood on the opposite side of the circle from Brynn, watching her face as they materialized in his palace. She hadn't looked at him once during the transport. Hadn't spoken. Had given him exactly the cold distance he'd claimed to want.
