Lara did not, as a rule, "take walks in the garden." It wasn't her style.
She preferred sword drills, sparring with grumpy knights, and running headlong into missions for days at a time, letting exhaustion drown out anything as inconvenient as feelings.
But today, there were no missions only a battlefield inside her chest, and no sword in the world could clear the fog from her mind.
So, for lack of better options, Lara wandered.
The Celestian castle gardens were a masterpiece hedges shaped into mythic beasts, fountains spilling crystal water over white marble, roses in every color from blood red to ghostly silver. B
irds sang in the branches, and sunlight slanted through arching trees, dappled gold against green grass.
There was a peace here Lara usually found suspicious, like it was waiting for something to ruin it. Today, she didn't mind.
She found a secluded patch near a lazy brook and lay down in the grass, staring up at the clouds. Her mind spun circles.
She tried not to think of Sarisa's office—of the careful words, the fragile not-quite-smile, the feeling of standing in a place she used to call home and realizing she was more visitor than partner.
Do you really want to marry that man?
For now… yes. I do.
The words stung, but not in the way Lara expected. It wasn't just jealousy though, gods, it was there it was the raw ache of knowing that she'd been waiting for something to change without ever daring to change herself.
She closed her eyes and listened to her own heartbeat. If she lay very still, she could almost convince herself there was nothing wrong at all.
The world was spinning, birds were singing, and her life hadn't just tilted on its axis.
It didn't last.
Something crashed through the hedge with the subtlety of a thunderstorm. Lara barely had time to tense her abs before two small bodies flung themselves onto her.
"Oof!" The breath left her lungs as Kaelith's knees dug into her ribs and Aliyah's hair flopped in her face.
"Attack!" Kaelith yelled, giggling, as she attempted to pin Lara's arms above her head.
Aliyah took the opportunity to sit on Lara's stomach, grinning like a tiny demon queen. "You can't escape! We are the most powerful in the land!"
Lara managed a faint, crooked smile. "Mercy, Your Highnesses. I am but a humble dragon, felled by your might."
Kaelith gasped, delighted. "You're not humble, you're grumpy!"
Aliyah leaned close, her eyes narrowed with mock severity. "Did you talk to Mama Sarisa?"
Lara gave a long, dramatic sigh. "Yes, I talked to her."
Kaelith exchanged a significant look with Aliyah, then looked back down at Lara. "Did you apologize?"
"Are you going to be friends again?" Aliyah added, wiggling for emphasis.
Lara tried to sit up, but both children flopped back on her chest, pinning her like two determined sandbags.
She relented, flopping back into the grass with an exaggerated groan. "I said sorry. That's the first step, right?"
Kaelith squinted at her. "Did she forgive you?"
"She didn't throw me out a window, so that's something," Lara said dryly.
Aliyah giggled and poked Lara's cheek. "That's not a real answer! Did you hug?"
"Do grown-ups have to hug every time they make up?" Lara asked, genuinely curious.
Kaelith nodded, solemn as a judge. "Otherwise, it doesn't count. That's the rule."
Lara glanced up at the sky. "I don't make the rules, I just break them."
Aliyah cackled and tried to tickle Lara's sides, which proved a tactical error. In one smooth motion, Lara rolled sideways, trapping Aliyah with an arm and tugging Kaelith onto her lap.
Both shrieked in mock terror as Lara launched a counterattack, fingers wiggling and tickling until the garden echoed with delighted squeals.
"Mercy!" Aliyah shouted, giggling helplessly.
"We surrender!" Kaelith agreed, half out of breath.
Lara let them go, flopping dramatically back into the grass. The children collapsed beside her, breathless, faces pink with joy.
Kaelith propped herself on an elbow. "So… are you staying, or are you going to run away on a mission again?"
Lara stared at the leaves overhead. "I'm not going anywhere for a while. Not if I can help it."
Aliyah brightened, immediately climbing back onto Lara's chest. "Good! We need you for our castle defenses. There are too many frogs in the moat. And Kaelith keeps eating all the cherries from the garden."
Kaelith rolled her eyes. "I don't eat all the cherries. Just the best ones."
Lara pretended to sigh. "Tough life for a dragon."
The girls giggled, content to be sprawled on top of her, their laughter tangling with the birdsong and the rustling breeze.
For a few precious minutes, nothing hurt—no thorns of regret, no biting worry about the future. Just grass stains, tickles, and the certainty that, for now, she was right where she belonged.
Kaelith started to hum a tune, and Aliyah began orchestrating a plan to build a fortress from branches and flowers.
Lara listened, half-dozing, soaking in the warmth of the sun and the heavier warmth of being needed, being forgiven, even if she hadn't quite forgiven herself.
The peace, as always, couldn't last.
There was a low, predatory rumble from the path behind them—a sound that made Lara's instincts prickle. She opened one eye, scanning the edge of the garden. The girls went silent, senses attuned to mischief.
A shadow loomed.
Malvoria strode into view, her skin radiant in the sunlight, red horns gleaming, black cloak fluttering like a storm cloud. Her grey eyes locked onto Lara, who was trapped beneath a pile of giggling children.
"Well, well," Malvoria drawled, folding her arms with theatrical menace. "If it isn't the mighty general, brought low by two ankle-biters."
Lara attempted to sit up and only managed to flail one arm in salute. "Permission to surrender, Your Majesty. I'm outnumbered."
Malvoria raised an eyebrow, a wicked grin curling her lips. "I'd say you've lost your edge. Or perhaps you just enjoy being conquered?"
Kaelith and Aliyah erupted in laughter, rolling off Lara and scampering to Malvoria's side, both talking at once:
"Aunt Malvoria, Lara lost the battle!"
"She tried to escape but we jumped on her and then she tickled us!"
"We're going to build a cherry fortress and Lara is our prisoner!"
Malvoria's grin softened just a bit. She stooped to ruffle Kaelith's hair, then Aliyah's, then glanced back to Lara with something almost like affection though it was quickly masked by her usual swagger.
"Cherry fortress, huh? Sounds like a siege is in order." Malvoria turned to Lara, tapped a long finger against her temple, and then—without warning—smacked her lightly on the top of the head.
"Ow!" Lara yelped, more startled than hurt. "What was that for?"
Malvoria leaned in, her tone all mock-seriousness. "For wallowing in the grass when you should be doing something useful. For sulking. And for letting two children defeat you in open combat."
Kaelith and Aliyah cackled.
Lara rubbed her head, scowling up at her sister-in-law. "Your parenting skills are questionable, Malvoria."
"Please," Malvoria scoffed, flicking a blade of grass from Lara's shoulder. "You're the one rolling in the mud. If you're going to feel sorry for yourself, at least do it with some dignity."
Lara shot her a glare, but Malvoria just laughed—a sound like thunder and velvet. She extended a hand and hauled Lara to her feet in one strong pull, then brushed imaginary dust from her sleeves with exaggerated care.
"Better?" Malvoria asked, golden eyes twinkling.
Lara tried to hide her smile, but it broke through anyway. "Maybe. But next time, warn me before you go for the head."
Malvoria shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"
Kaelith and Aliyah danced around them, demanding Lara's attention, arguing about the best building materials for the new fortress.
Malvoria bent to listen, making appropriately dramatic noises, and Lara watched the three of them her odd, stubborn, miraculous family until the knot in her chest eased, just a little.