In the aftermath, Kiera was quieter, more pensive. The bravado was stripped away, revealing the intelligent, weary woman beneath. That night, she sought Echo out in the grove.
"I owe you a life debt," she stated, sitting beside him on a crystal bench. "A crude concept, but a real one. My ledgers have always been balanced. This… unsettles me."
"I didn't do it for a debt," Echo said, watching the Starlight sapling's gentle glow.
"I know. That's what unsettles me more." She was silent for a long moment. "All my life, I have calculated risk and reward. Love, trust, loyalty—they were variables too unstable to factor in. But watching you… the way you are with them…" She nodded toward the main living area, where Leyla, Mira, and Ryn's laughter echoed softly. "It isn't a calculation. It's a foundation. And it makes you stronger than any transaction ever could."
She turned to him, her elegant features serious. "I want to understand it. I want… to be part of it. Not as a merchant. Not as an ally with a ledger. But as… Kiera."
Echo felt the sincerity in her life-threads. It was a terrifying vulnerability for her, offered without guarantee of return. He understood. Her world of deals and secrets had collapsed. She was seeking a new truth.
He took her hand. Her skin was soft, but her grip was firm. "It starts with trust," he said. "And it's built day by day. It's not always easy. But it's real."
He leaned in and kissed her. It was not like the fierce, claiming kiss with Leyla, or the deep, knowing kiss with Mira, or the resonant, freeing kiss with Ryn. This was a question and an answer. A negotiation of the heart. Her lips were clever and responsive, and she tasted of some rare spice and star-frost.
She melted into it, a soft sigh escaping her. When they parted, her eyes were wide, her usual composure gone. "Well," she breathed, a ghost of her old smirk returning. "That's a down payment I can get behind."