Won The Battle

As Adeline stepped through the grand doors of the Marquess' estate, the weight of exhaustion pressed against her shoulders.

The encounter with Benedict had drained her emotionally, and the new revelation about her holy power left her mind reeling. There was too much at stake, and her window of opportunity was rapidly shrinking.

Before she could take another step, a familiar voice rang from the staircase.

"Well, that was a short outing," Alaric mused, standing at the top of the stairs, his arms lazily crossed. His blue eyes gleamed with quiet amusement, but there was something sharp beneath the surface, an ever-present watchfulness.

When Aaron left, he didn't come back, even when they wrote to him asking him to come back. He missed Adeline's birthdays a few times but he would always send her a gift. They were mostly exploits from his battle on the borders.