Ti's kiss lingered, soft and warm, carrying the faint taste of spring leaves and quiet desperation. Liam's body, battered and drained, responded despite the exhaustion weighing on his limbs. He cupped her face gently, thumbs brushing the delicate points of her ears as their foreheads rested together.
"Ti… you don't have to—" he started, voice rough.
She silenced him with another kiss, deeper this time, her fingers tracing the lines of his chest where wounds still throbbed. "I want to," she whispered. "Not just for the Tree or Citra. For you, Liam. You've fought when you could have run. You've carried burdens no outsider should bear." Her green eyes met his, vulnerable yet resolute. In that moment, she wasn't the ancient guardian of the Tree of Life. She was simply a woman who had lost much and refused to lose more.
