---
Sekhmet took one slow breath and let the whole of the hidden world fall away in his mind until only she remained.
Not the twins.
Not Auri.
Not the sealed half-gods in the distance.
Not the red grass and black sky of the Void Land.
Only Lily. His first wife. His newly born Cruoraphim.
His hunger's answer and his responsibility are in the same shape.
He reached up and touched the side of her face.
The gesture was light. It was deliberate. More deliberate, perhaps, because of what would come next.
