Close it.
Swallow hard against the lump rising up.
I look back at the scene in front of me.
At the man I hated and loved in the same breath.
At the babies we made who somehow still found a way to laugh even in a world this broken.
I press a hand over my heart, grounding myself.
Then I meet her gaze.
And I nod.
"Yeah," I whisper. "I'd have said yes."
Silpha smiles.
Just a little.
Just enough.
She drops the crate onto the ground between us with a grunt.
"Good," she says. "Then we don't have to kill each other today."
I huff out a laugh that feels too big for my chest.
"Maybe tomorrow," I mutter.
She smirks and disappears back into the shadows, leaving me standing there with the weight of a new future heavy in my hands.
I don’t know what comes next.
I don't know how we heal this.
But watching Traz cradle our babies like they’re the whole damn universe?
It feels like the first real thing in a long, long time.
CHAPTER 18
TRAZ
The kids pass out early, worn down from hours of playing and belly-laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Wish I could say the same.
I sit on the floor, back against the cracked wall, legs stretched out, the stitched gash in my side throbbing in time with my heartbeat.
Kelli moves around the room slow, deliberate, picking up stray bits of food wrappers and tossed toys.
The quiet between us isn’t comfortable.
It’s a live thing.
Breathing.
