Late that night…
The moonlight spilled across the floor of Luciana's private chamber, casting silver bars across the tiles. The soft sound of crickets beyond the balcony filled the silence, broken only by the gentle breathing of her children in the adjacent room.
Luciana stood by the window, arms wrapped around herself.
She didn't turn when she heard the door open behind her. She didn't need to.
Erebus stepped inside quietly, his movements slower now, humbled by pain and years of exile. The scent of night jasmine drifted in between them. He paused just a few paces behind her.
"You're awake," he said softly.
She nodded. "I couldn't sleep."
Silence.
She didn't invite him closer. But she didn't send him away either.
"I didn't expect you to forgive me," he said. "But I hoped… you might speak to me. Like this."
Luciana turned slightly, just enough to look at him over her shoulder.
"I was afraid if I spoke to you," she said, "I'd remember how much I....missed you."
The words pierced the air like a quiet dagger. Erebus flinched.
"I never stopped thinking of you," he murmured. "Even when I wanted to. Even when I thought it would break me."
She turned fully now, her expression guarded.
"Then where were you ?" Her voice cracked slightly. "Why did I have to give birth without you? Why did I have to raise our sons in hiding—while rumors painted you as a villain raising an army?"
Erebus looked down. His fists clenched, then slowly relaxed.
"Because I was a villain," he said. "I lost control. I became someone even I didn't recognize. And by the time I realized what I'd done, I thought you were better off without me. Safer."
"If you knew where I was...and alive...you could've written. A letter. A sign—anything."
"I was a coward, Luciana." His voice broke. "I thought staying away was protecting you. But it was also… easier. Than facing what I'd done."
Luciana blinked rapidly. The pain she'd buried for so long was rising again.
"You think the silence hurt less?" she whispered. "I thought you were dead. I mourned you every night, even when I hated you. And then… Nemesis would ask me if his father was a hero. Where was he? Was he alive or dead?"
Erebus shut his eyes.
"I didn't know what to tell him," she continued, her voice thick. "Some nights, I wanted to scream that his father was a demonic murderer. Other nights, I held him and told him stories of your bravery."
"I don't deserve either version," Erebus said quietly.
Luciana stepped closer, uncertain of her own steps. "And yet… you came back."
He looked at her, moonlight glinting off the wetness in his eyes. "Because I had nothing left to run from—except myself."
They stood close now, breath within reach.
"I'm not asking you to come back to me," Erebus said. "I know trust doesn't rebuild in a night. But I would stay—at a distance, if you wish. In the shadows, if I must. Just to see them grow. To earn whatever scraps of forgiveness you can find."
Luciana stared at him. The man before her was not the one she remembered—arrogant, wrathful, and unstoppable.
This man was older. Wounded. Like human.
And that frightened her more than anything.
Because part of her still reserved a soft corner for him.
Against her better judgment. Against her fear.
"You think I'm not angry?" she said. "You think I don't lie awake, reliving the day I begged the gods to keep you alive—just so I could curse you to your face?"
"I think," he said gently, "you're the strongest person I've ever known. And I broke you."
Luciana turned away again. Her throat burned.
"I don't know if I can trust you."
"I don't know if I trust myself," he admitted.
She looked back at him, surprised.
"But I want to," he said. "For them. For you. For me."
Luciana studied him in the quiet. The shadows framed his face, but this time… they didn't feel dangerous.
They felt familiar.
"Then start by staying alive," she whispered. "But you stay as you—not as a shadow. Not as a ghost."
Erebus nodded solemnly. "Then I won't run or die."
She let out a long breath. "We'll see."
Her gaze locked on his arm. She turned to the couch near the hearth where fire still burned warming the room.
"I'm sure you never asked the healers for treatment," she hit the nail on his head.
He was surprised she knew him well for the short amount of time they spent together.
He undressed halfway revealing the horrors of war.
She found yet another painful truth.
His body bore scars that could otherwise be a revolting sight for many who knew nothing about pain and war.
Scars from burns, bruises, slashes and cuts from blades. There were gunshot wounds too. The old jagged scars on his bare chest from a fight with a demonic creature in distant past.
She found herself taking every step closer to him. And then the arm that was concerning her. She gently lifted. There in his flesh were still pieces of armor that were jagged deeply inside the flesh.
"Are you out of you mind!" She looked horrified. But Erebus was only drawn deeply to her. As if he were drunk.
She made him sit on the couch and took a clear bottle of holy water and another bottle with a thick fluid.
She sat beside him and closely studied the wound. She knew he bathed himself in condition.
Pulling off the cork she poured the thick fluid on his arm. The medicine was procured to get the thorns out. It was a gamble. Then she gently rubbed it on his arm. She could feel the uneven surface. She could see his arm get tense.
"Don't!" She warned him firmly. But her voice was ever soft as he remembered.
"Let them out." She advised him.
The pieces loosened on his flesh. Though it was painful but it was with the pain. The shards left his skin. Luciana carefully picked them out dropping them in a small ornament tray beside her. Eight big ones. Twenty small ones. Then she pulled the cork of the clear glass bottle and slowly poured the holy water over his arm.
The holy water reacted,stung and left an overwhelming burning sensation til his shoulder.
She was already using her divine energy. It glowed white. He recalled the night he brought back 'Fiend's Dawn' when she was burning hot from the reaction to the incense.
It had been only one night after her abduction. That time when she almost fell into the hearth, he had grabbed her instinctively causing his hand to be burned. Without hesitation she used her divine blessing to cure his burnt hand.
He noticed the injuries fade away as warmth washed his battered body. The same ethereal presence in front of him aroused him. He wanted her. He'd been waiting for as long as he could remember.
"It's done." She snapped him back to the present.
"Try lifting your arm." She instructed.
He did. No pain. He no longer felt broken or tired. It always made him wonder how her healing worked like some kind of a miracle.
She looked tired. He noticed that she didn't have stamina as she used to. Maybe childbirth really took a toll on her. They were supposed to have twins. But one died. He blamed himself for putting her through the torture.
She inclined towards him. He realized that she had little energy left on her. He lifted her much to her surprise and took bed.
"E-Erebus?" His sudden gesture was alarming.
" Don't stress yourself." He cautioned her and forbade her from using her blessings for the time being.
"I will be fine after some rest." She insisted.
" No." He said sharply.
" I know how much you can do at once."
She said no more.
After carefully putting her to bed, he turned to leave—respecting her space.
But before the door closed, Nemesis stood behind him.
"Dade? Mama?" He caught their attention.
" Nemesis? What are you doing this is late at night?" Luciana asked him almost getting off the bed when Erebus got up and lifted him taking to her side.
"I...wanted us to sleep together." He looked at them.
They looked at each other awkwardly.
" Please~!" He begged.
" But your mother needs rest. She's tired from caring for your brother." Erebus tried to reason.
" Will you go away?"
Nemesis' question struck them hard. The boy yearned both parents' affection and care. They couldn't ignore it just because of each other.
" We can sleep together in my bed!" He insisted.
So they did. Like any family they too felt that this could be another beginning of their normal lives together.