Dragoncrest Cliffs Till my heartbeat stops

a silence curled itself around them. val wished to press so many questions, and they hung the tip of his tongue poised like little harpoons. yet he had heard in rosalyn's voice an edge that forbade him to speak; a rare vulnerability in the armor of the strongest woman he had ever known.

he hung his head and looked at his claws instead. blunted down to their quicks and black.

nothing would ever change it, but it still hurt his heart to know the truth. "i love you, maman." he finally spoke up, grateful more than anything that he had come home before rosalyn had gone to join raleska in the gloomy fields beyond.