Alaric
*[You almost told her,]* Rook said, once the reception's dancing had shifted into easy, warm chaos and I'd finally found a quiet corner to catch my breath. *[Back at the ceremony. Caught yourself just in time.]*
*I know. Wasn't the right moment.*
*[When's the right moment, exactly? You've been circling this for weeks now.]*
I watched Marlowe across the yard, laughing at something Cricket had said, entirely unaware of the particular weight sitting in my own chest, and understood Rook wasn't wrong to press the question.
*I want it to be about her. Entirely about her, not overshadowed by someone else's celebration, however joyful.* I turned the small object in my jacket pocket over between my fingers, considering. *Nova and Theo deserve today fully. I'm not stealing any part of it
