Crack, Crack...
Crack, Crack.....
Aria blankly stared at Aether's face, which was cracking like broken glass.
There was no smiling face, no gentle eyes that always looked at her with love... just a face on the verge of shattering at any moment.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, her mind already on the brink of breaking. The only thing keeping her sane was the faint rise and fall of Aether's chest, his slow, laboured breath.
Each exhale was a reminder that he was still clinging to life, but for how much longer?
Maelona hugged her daughter, her lips trembling as she tried to offer comfort. Her arms encircled Aria protectively, though she felt utterly helpless in the face of her child's anguish.
Meanwhile, Liora blinked, feeling a strange heaviness in her heart. She didn't understand love, never had. Her intentions toward Aether had been purely physical; she had only wanted to mate with him. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, her heart felt weak and heavy.
