Torack watches the bug’s lazy orbit. “She’ll remember how it felt.”
I smile. “That’s enough.”
A sudden gust rustles the trees, carrying faint laughter from the camp. Someone’s telling a story by the fire—probably Groth. He’s been doing impressions of me all week, which are equal parts terrible and horrifyingly accurate.
Torack reaches out and brushes a thumb under my chin.
“You did this.”
“I had help.”
He nods. “But you believed in it first.”
I lean into him, resting my head against his chest. “I believe inusnow.”
And he says it like it’s been tucked behind his teeth for days:
“I love you.”
I look up, eyes burning.
“Say it again.”
He leans down and murmurs it right into my mouth, kissing me like it’s a promise.
Lillian stirs, muttering something about jellybeans and dragon wings, and we both laugh, pulling her in closer.
This is everything I never knew I needed. A snoring kid, an orc with a secret heart, and a night sky lit up by magic bugs. We’re a family now. And somehow, that feels like the most magical thing of all.
