Vivienne's breath hitched. She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching his face. They were red-rimmed, swollen, the kind of tears that came only when walls collapsed.
She lifted a trembling hand, cupping his cheek. "You've changed."
He almost laughed at the echo of Victoria's words. Instead, he just let her see. The golden eyes that had seen war carved into eternity. The scars in his skin. The exhaustion that lived beneath his bones.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and more tears spilled down.
"Damn you," she whispered, not in anger, but in grief. "Damn you for surviving like this."
Merlin's jaw clenched. His hand came up, wrapping around hers where it pressed to his cheek. He forced the words out through the weight in his chest.
"…Would you rather I hadn't?"
The silence hit like a blade.
