It was wrong of me to push, she begins, and one of Kunžak's ears twitches in surprise at this admission. He is quiet and still as she continues, his eyes deep, warm pools that never leave her face. For her to admit fault is painful for him to hear - for she can do no wrong in his eyes - but he recognizes the strength it takes for her to do this, to lay herself bare a second time, after he had walked away the first.

Kunžak... I loved you for who you were.

That single word: loved. That is enough to make his heart heavy as lead. She has never used such a word toward him, and to hear it used in the past tense tells him all he needs to hear.

With a hot lump of shame and dejection rising in his throat, it's all Kune can do to keep himself present and focused on her words. Nonetheless, his gaze drifts briefly from her face to stare at nothing as he processes all this. He quietly reminds himself that no matter what she wants of him now - no matter how painful it may be - he will be here for her. Love or no. He knows how to be a Strážce; it's all he's ever been, after all. Slipping back into that role would be as easy and familiar as stepping into his own skin.

Yet how his heart aches in that moment, when he sees what could have been crumbling away before him.

His eyes are closed as her final admission leaves her lips: I want you beside me, in whatever way you can. Whatever way you want. Her voice is gentle and plaintive enough that it coaxes back some of the hope that had been fast retreating within him. He opens his eyes, searching her face for the truth, then lets out a low, slow breath. He wants to believe, but his heart shies away from the precipice, fearing what it will find.

"I..." he begins, a little of his old caution and reticence returning. "I want you, Božena. But I must know: do you... are you... your feelings - are they a thing of the past, still? If they are, you need only say so, and I will be here for you as I've always been, and no more."