02-20-2017, 01:13 AM
Moment’s whispered apology had the breath catching in Lilitha’s lungs, and she held him tight all over again, drawing him in, sinking into the warmth of his skin. “Oh, honey, it’s okay. You aren’t the only one who disappeared.” She hadn’t been the same since the fire had come back to her, since it had begun to set pain nerves ablaze with every touch, since it had burned away the wings she’d come to love so dearly. She hadn’t looked very hard, part of her preferring to be alone even as her desperate heart ached with the solitude.
She brushed her lips against his shoulder, letting his promise roll off her skin and fall to the ground unanswered. How many times had she heard such words, a vow that she’d never be alone again? Each time she’d believed, no matter who had spoken it. And each time that vow had been broken. Instead, she just nodded, giving the illusion of acceptance without letting her heart hope for once it would be true.
Oh, but she couldn’t resist that smile. “Okay, Mo,” she murmured, an answering smile stealing its way onto lips that had almost forgotten how. “I...thank you. I don’t know where to begin, not really.” She looked away, finding it hard to meet the shy warmth in his teal gaze. “The fire came back, and it burned away my wings. I suppose that’s most of it, really. Mostly it’s been just me since then.
“No sign of my…” Was he even her father anymore? He’d taken on the name willingly enough, but she’d barely seen him since she’d defied Beqanna and been banished from his newly-won homeland. Not at all since she was quite small. “No sign of...of Romek,” she reluctantly amended, closing golden eyes against the fissures running through her fragile heart. “Nor of any of the friends I made when I was young. Other than you, of course,” she added with a tentative smile, tucking herself up against him a little closer.
“I guess that’s all there is to tell.” Or at least all she was willing to let out. No need to go into weeks and months and years of agony, nor to bring him down or add to his already evident guilt. Instead she rubbed her cheek against the side of his neck and fought to keep up the pretense. “I mostly go by Lilitha now, but...well, you can keep calling me Litha if you like. You’re my Mo, after all.”
She brushed her lips against his shoulder, letting his promise roll off her skin and fall to the ground unanswered. How many times had she heard such words, a vow that she’d never be alone again? Each time she’d believed, no matter who had spoken it. And each time that vow had been broken. Instead, she just nodded, giving the illusion of acceptance without letting her heart hope for once it would be true.
Oh, but she couldn’t resist that smile. “Okay, Mo,” she murmured, an answering smile stealing its way onto lips that had almost forgotten how. “I...thank you. I don’t know where to begin, not really.” She looked away, finding it hard to meet the shy warmth in his teal gaze. “The fire came back, and it burned away my wings. I suppose that’s most of it, really. Mostly it’s been just me since then.
“No sign of my…” Was he even her father anymore? He’d taken on the name willingly enough, but she’d barely seen him since she’d defied Beqanna and been banished from his newly-won homeland. Not at all since she was quite small. “No sign of...of Romek,” she reluctantly amended, closing golden eyes against the fissures running through her fragile heart. “Nor of any of the friends I made when I was young. Other than you, of course,” she added with a tentative smile, tucking herself up against him a little closer.
“I guess that’s all there is to tell.” Or at least all she was willing to let out. No need to go into weeks and months and years of agony, nor to bring him down or add to his already evident guilt. Instead she rubbed her cheek against the side of his neck and fought to keep up the pretense. “I mostly go by Lilitha now, but...well, you can keep calling me Litha if you like. You’re my Mo, after all.”