Not just looking—seeing.
And then, quiet as ever, she says, “What doyouwant?”
The question knocks the breath out of me.
Because I’ve been preparing to let her go.
Every moment since I heard about the grant, I’ve been packing away feelings like old runes, telling myself this is what love means—letting her fly without clipping her wings.
But now, here she is.
Offering me a moment I never thought I’d be brave enough to take.
My throat is dry.
My hands still.
And for a heartbeat, I think I’ll say nothing.
“You,” I whisper.
Her eyes widen.
I say it again, firmer this time. “You.I wantyou, Clara.”
She steps around the seedling beds slowly, like one wrong move might break the spell.
When she reaches me, she touches my face with both hands.
And I lean into it like a man who’s been waiting lifetimes.
“I was never going to leave without saying goodbye,” she breathes.
“You were never going to leave at all,” I murmur, voice thick. “Not really. Because I’d follow.”
And then she kisses me.
Just two hearts finding rhythm in a Grove that finally, fully,bloomsaround us.
Vines unfurl above our heads.
The moss glows under our feet.
The wind dances with petals that weren’t there a moment ago.
And when we part, her forehead rests against mine, breath mingled, eyes shining.
“So what now?” she whispers.
I take her hand.
“We grow,” I say.
CHAPTER 29
CLARA
The cabin’s inside is warm and small, like being wrapped in living wood. Thorne stares at the walls, looking bewildered and out of place. He is mine in this moment, and I almost laugh at how he stands so rigid, like towering trees against a fragile roof.
