Gracelynn feels the way Faeyra begins to move, her arms releasing her as she places the gentle kiss upon her head. Taking the cue, the little one slowly backs up, only releasing Fay’s hand when the older woman gives it a squeeze and moves to stride towards Mr. C.

Calvyn looks up, meeting her eyes as she strides towards him. He mentally prepares himself, his mind telling him that he is about to get punched, slapped, or stabbed, all of which would be rightly deserved. The way that he had treated her when they parted last had been horrible, horrendous even. But, it had been for her own safety, or so he had always told himself. He could have handled it better though, could have told him exactly what he so desperately had wanted to, but he had chosen to watch her walk out the door, taking his shattered heart and soul with him.

She approaches him, her strides graceful as she walks across the landscape. Even as he admires her strong beauty along the way, he can’t help the flinch as her hands lift, expecting for his face to meet her fury.

He can’t help his surprise and shock when instead, her arms are wrapped around his neck and her body is pressed flush against in own. It takes him a few moments to decipher what is happening before his hands timidly move to wrap around her waist, tugging her even closer to him. His head lays atop her own, the scent of her filling his entire being. She is real. She is here. It’s not a fantasy.

The hug is long, far beyond what was considered to be proper within their homeland, but he finds that he doesn’t care. All that fills his head is just how good it feels to hold the only woman he had ever so desperately longed for. He finds himself fighting the urge to tug her body back to his when she begins to pull away, afraid of what will happen when the moment ends.

She pulls back, her wide and beautiful eyes staring up into his own. His hands loosen but do not leave their place upon her waist. He wonders what he should say, what he should do, but the spell ends when Faeyra speaks, her voice breaking with the weight of the single word.

The heaviness that consumes him threatens to make his knees buckle as he looks down at her. Of course. She would have asked first about her dear friend, the one he was supposed to have been with. Then, her next words came, shattering his hopes to pieces like a wave bashing a fish against a rock. The heaviness of his soul was back in full force. Even if her words were not meant to be cruel or said sarcastically, the words cut him deeply. He could barely find his voice or any sense of himself as she removes herself from him, her attention moving to Gracelynn instead.

He couldn’t watch her walk away from him. Not again.

Before he can even think through his plan, his feet propel him forward, his hand lightly but firmly grabbing her arm and spinning her around. His lips meet hers with a passionate need as his arms envelop her in a warm embrace. He doesn’t push the kiss too much, isn’t forceful in the way his lips find hers. He is just there, showing her his feelings and heart for her in this moment. When he finally pulls away, he rests his forehead against hers. ”I let her go to find her happiness. There is no Duchess and there is no Duke. I gave everything up. It all became meaningless....everything except you.” his eyes wander down to peer at Gracelynn as he pulls back, hands shaking as awareness of what he has done come rushing to him. ”You and Gracelynn.”

Gracelynn steps up to them, bright eyes watching and a little grin playing upon her features as her little hands move to find one of each of theirs.