it erupts like a volcano, then subsides.
And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.
He does not need to say the words for her to know. She can feel them as clearly as if he had spoken it aloud. She knows in that moment that she has always loved him. That she always would. At first she had fought it, unwilling to relive the horrors of her youth. But this was not the same, could never be the same. He would never hurt her, not intentionally.
She had been confused by his absence, wondering why he had disappeared, when he would return. But he is here now, and she understands. She feels a little guilty, prying as she is into his emotions (even if she cannot help it. She still does not know how or if she can dampen the ability). But still, she is glad for it. She sees things now so much more clearly than she ever has before.
She can also sense his regret, his self-recrimination. She has already forgiven him. She has never been able to hold a grudge, especially not against him.
When his words whisper against her skin, her eyes slide close as she leans into his touch. He believes that he has failed her. But he never could. He is here now, and that is all that matters. If anyone had failed her, it had been herself. For a woman that prides herself on her ability to care for herself, she certainly had been doing a poor job of it.
His offer of healing warms her heart. She could have gone elsewhere to be healed. Likely should have. But pride had prevented her. She had been loathe to allow others to see such weakness in her. And now… now she suspects it is too late. She releases a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as her russet eyes open, finding Tiphon’s gaze.
“It is not too late?”
His touch is like a balm against her skin, soothing the worst of her hurts and fears away. His next words bring a small, bright smile to her lips. She returns his embrace, happiness filling her for the first time in months (years?). She wishes that she could take the sorrow from his eyes, from his voice as he continues, wishes that she could take back those scars so that their reunion would be filled only with joy. And so, when she responds, she fills her words with every ounce of the sincerity that she feels.
“I don’t want you to.”
You have to work out whether your roots
have so entwined together
that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.
Because this is what love is.