Twist...

Evening After the Ascension>>>>

The soft hum of twilight settled over the Caelus estate. Lanterns flickered against marble columns, casting golden light into the gardens below.

Octavius stood alone on the high veranda, leaning over the balustrade. His eyes weren't on the horizon.

They were fixed on the courtyard below—where Leila sat with Apollonia in her lap, pointing out stars as they appeared one by one. The child giggled, still full of joy from the ceremony, her tiny fingers brushing through her mother's hair.

There was a softness to the scene—a peace he hadn't known he was missing.

He remembered the moment during the ceremony when Apollonia had clapped and shouted, "Fly, Nemy, fly!" with her whole heart.

He remembered how Leila's eyes had glistened as she watched her daughter, not Nemesis.

He remembered the way his heart had hurt.

Not with pain. With longing.

A presence stirred behind him. Lucerne had stepped out from the interior corridor, leaning against the stone arch.

"You've been watching them for a while now," Lucerne said gently.

Octavius didn't turn. "She's strong. Too strong for what the world has given her."

Lucerne said nothing, allowing the silence to stretch.

"She doesn't look at me like the others do," Octavius continued. "Not with pity. Not with expectation. Not with fear."

"You want to be near her," Lucerne said. "But you're afraid it isn't love."

Octavius's jaw clenched. "I thought love had to be like it was with Luciana. Bright. Consuming. Something that made you feel like the world tilted."

Lucerne smiled faintly. "Sometimes love doesn't tilt the world. It just steadies it."

The words sank deep.

Below, Apollonia leaned forward and placed a kiss on her mother's cheek. Leila laughed quietly, pressing her forehead to her daughter's.

Octavius exhaled.

"I think… I don't want to imagine a future without them."

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Leila's Quarters, Nightfall.. .

A faint lavender glow from enchanted lanterns bathed the chamber in a soft light. The room was quiet save for the occasional flutter of curtains stirred by the breeze. Apollonia lay curled under her blankets in her cot near the window, her tiny fists twitching in her dreams.

Leila tucked her daughter in gently, brushing a kiss against her brow, before turning at the sound of a soft knock.

She opened the door and froze.

Octavius.

He stood tall, slightly disheveled from the long ceremonial day, his eyes shadowed with unspoken thought. He looked… uncertain.

"I… hope I'm not disturbing you," he said quietly, almost formally.

Leila shook her head slowly. "You're not. Please… come in."

He stepped inside, cautiously, his gaze flicking briefly to Apollonia's sleeping form. The sight of her softened his face almost immediately.

"She's asleep?"

"She was excited today," Leila murmured, folding her hands in front of her. "She hasn't stopped talking about wings and stars and—'Uncle Nemy flying.' She calls him that now."

Octavius let out a short breath that was nearly a laugh, though it carried something weightier beneath. "She's bright. Far more than most children I've met."

A quiet pause stretched between them.

Leila lowered her eyes. "You said… you wanted to speak with me?"

He nodded slowly, then took a few hesitant steps into the room before stopping again. "I don't want to intrude. But… I didn't want to go another night not saying this."

She looked at him, wary—but open.

"I don't have answers yet," he admitted, his voice low. "I'm still tangled in old grief, in memories that won't quite let go. But I do know that since the day I saw you standing with your child… something in me changed."

Her throat tightened. "My lord-"

"Octavius," he cut her.

"Y-yes?" She looked confused.

"Please call my by my name, my lady," Octavius looked serious making her flustered.

"I'm not asking for you to wait for me. Or to carry my confusion." He looked away briefly. "But I don't want to keep pretending that what I feel is just gratitude or guilt. It isn't."

Leila inhaled softly. "And what is it?"

His eyes met hers—steady, uncertain, but honest. "It's the beginning of something. Something I've never felt in this way before."

The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable. It was charged, delicate.

Then Leila stepped back and sat down near the window seat, motioning for him to sit across from her.

"I want to believe you," she said, voice quiet, fingers twisting in her lap. "But you don't know what it's like living with the fear I carry every day."

Octavius didn't speak. He waited.

She continued, "I've been marked—tainted—by the blood of a devil. People look at me and see a woman who consorted with darkness. Worse, they look at my daughter and see something to be wary of. Even the staff speak in hushed tones when they think I'm not listening."

"I don't," Octavius said quietly.

"I know you don't. But one day you might," she murmured. "When your loyalty is tested. When people whisper that you deserve someone… untainted. Someone noble. Someone like her."

She didn't need to say the name. He flinched anyway.

"Luciana," he murmured.

Leila's eyes lowered. "You still love her."

"Yes," he answered, without hesitation. Then, softer: "But not in the way I thought I always would. What I feel now… it's more a respect. A bond that shaped me. But it doesn't burn anymore."

She looked at him. "And me?"

"You… calm the fire. You don't pull me back into the past. You offer me something that feels like hope."

Her lips trembled slightly. "Even with Apollonia?"

"Especially with her," he said without hesitation. "She reminds me what kind of world I want to fight for. A world where children like her don't have to grow up wondering if they're cursed."

Tears gathered in her eyes—quickly blinked away.

"And if this is pity?"

"It isn't," he said firmly. "Pity fades. What I feel doesn't."

Another silence passed, softer this time.

Leila took a deep breath. "Then stay. Not tonight—not yet. But stay. In our lives. As you are now."

"I will," he promised.

He stood and gave her a gentle bow. "Goodnight, Leila."

She nodded, voice barely above a whisper. "Goodnight, Octavius."

As he stepped outside, the door closing behind him with a muted click, Leila turned back to her daughter. She didn't realize she was smiling through her tears like a maiden who just got her first confession from the man she loves.

Apollonia stirred in her sleep, and murmured:

"…Tavi…"