Duskfire Glacier deep down, you hide a reason for shame

she doesn't stop him.

doesn’t cry, or beg, or press him to return to her side. though the absence he leaves behind is a hollow, gaping thing—cold where he once lay. instead, gjalla watches his retreat in quiet, lashes low.

it is not rejection she feels. it is grief. his and hers, braided tightly between them. he bleeds it just as she does, only they hide it behind duty and walls so tall most cannot climb them. so she does not try.

her eyes stay fixed on him, emboldened by his silence. “blackfell.” a pause. “you don’t have to be brave for me.”

“not here.”