Ashen sat beside Lumina in silence, his jaw tense and fingers locked tightly together.
He had been awaiting the news of his mum's healing at the same time his mind wrestled with doubt.
Though he trusted Lumina had helped with the healing, part of him still did not fully trust the process, nor the timing of her sudden recovery.
He wasn't ready to ask Lumina the questions burning inside him questions that lingered around the poison.
But right now, more than anything, he just wanted his mother to be alright. She had never shown him affection, never smiled at him like she smiled at Adam or Aurelia. Still, she was his birth mother. The ache for her approval had never truly left him.
Beside him, Lumina sat quietly, reading her scroll as if untouched by the storm outside and within.
Her fingers trailed each line and her bruised cheek had begun to swell again, but she bore it without complaint.
