Nyra's pale face turned toward him; her tired but gentle smile softened the sharp edges of his pain. Her hands, though weaker than before, tightened around his as if to anchor him.
"Rex…" she whispered while her voice trembled, "you are his father. Nothing in this universe will ever take that away from you."
He shook his head slowly, his teeth clenched, his jaw tightened. "I failed you. I failed Lyra. I failed them… If I had just—" His voice broke mid-sentence, and his hand trembled in hers.
"—if I had just protected you, none of this would have happened. I wasn't there when you needed me the most."
Nyra's eyes shimmered faintly with tears, though her smile never faltered. "And yet… you came...."
