Our fevered exchange finally tapers off into a series of murmured gasps and softening caresses until we're simply clinging to one another, chests heaving with exertion. Ava's trembling frame is plastered against me like a limpet, her eyes screwed shut as if terrified to open them and dispel some wondrous illusion.
"Easy now, little one," I murmur in husky, soothing tones, cradling the back of her skull in one palm. "I'm still right here...we both are. That wasn't a dream or some cruel phantasm to be snatched away."
Gradually, Ava's lids part to reveal those haunting green pools swimming with a kaleidoscope of raw emotion—equal parts reverence, doubt, and a tentative yet blazing hope I haven't seen reflected there in far too long. Her lips quirk in the tiniest of tremulous smiles as she s
