Luna. Chapter 204

(Lyra's POV)

After the overwhelming street celebration, Kael led us toward the packhouse. The same building I'd lived in as a child, where I'd grown up thinking I'd spend my whole life.

"It looks exactly the same," I said, staring up at the familiar stone facade.

"Dad insisted on keeping everything unchanged," Kael said, carrying our luggage. "He said you might want to come home someday."

My chest tightened. Thomas had preserved my place here for six years. Through my exile, through my rejection, through all the rumors and drama. He'd kept faith that I'd return.

Magnus was staying in the guest wing, giving us privacy for our reunion with Kael's family. Asher had gone with Sarah to see his new room, leaving Kael and me alone as we walked through the main hallway.

"This is strange," I said, touching the banister I used to slide down as a kid. "Being back here."

"Good strange or bad strange?"

"Both."

Everything was preserved exactly as I remembered. The same artwork on the walls. The same furniture in the living areas. Even the same throw pillows on the couches.

"My mother kept your room ready too," Kael said quietly.

"My room?"

"Come see."

He led me upstairs, past his parents' suite, past the room that used to be his when we were teenagers. At the end of the hall, he stopped in front of a door I knew well.

My childhood bedroom.

Kael opened the door, and I stepped inside to find everything exactly as I'd left it. My old dresser with the carved flowers. My bookshelf filled with romance novels and fantasy stories. The window seat where I used to curl up and read for hours.

Even my stuffed animals were arranged on the bed.

"She dusted it every week," Kael said. "Changed the sheets monthly. Kept fresh flowers on the nightstand."

I sat down on the familiar bedspread, running my hands over the fabric. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she never stopped believing you'd come back to us."

"But I was exiled. Rejected. Everyone thought I was a liar."

"My mother never did. She always said the truth would come out eventually."

I picked up the stuffed wolf I'd had since I was five. Mr. Fluffles, which was probably the least intimidating name for a wolf in history.

"I used to dream about this room when I was pregnant and scared," I admitted. "About being safe here again."

"You are safe here. You and the kids."

Nova started fussing in Kael's arms, probably getting hungry. I took her from him and settled into the old rocking chair by the window. The same chair where Sarah used to rock Kael when he was sick as a child.

"This feels like a dream."

"A good dream or a nightmare?"

"Jury's still out."

Kael sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb my carefully preserved space. "I know this is overwhelming. Coming back here, seeing everything the same. It's a lot to process."

"It's like stepping back in time. Except I'm completely different now."

"You're stronger."

"I had to be. I didn't have a choice."

Nova latched onto me easily, settling into feeding with the contentment she always showed when she felt secure. Being in this room, surrounded by memories of safety and love, seemed to calm her.

"Tell me about the first time you brought her here," I said. "What was that like?"

"Terrifying. My parents had never seen her, and I was worried they'd blame her for everything that happened between us."

"But they didn't."

"My mother cried when she held Nova for the first time. Said she had my eyes but your stubborn chin."

"She does have a stubborn chin."

"Wonder where she gets that from."

I made a face at him. "Definitely not from her sweet, agreeable mother."

"Definitely not."

Nova finished eating and immediately fell asleep in my arms, completely relaxed. I moved her to the middle of my old bed, surrounding her with pillows so she couldn't roll anywhere.

"She looks perfect there," Kael said softly.

"She does."

We both stared at our daughter sleeping in the room where I'd grown up. Where I'd dreamed about my future. Where I'd planned a life that got completely derailed.

"Do you regret it?" I asked. "Any of it?"

"Rejecting you? Absolutely. That's the biggest regret of my life."

"Not that. The whole mess. The drama. The separation. Do you regret that we had to go through all of this to get here?"

Kael was quiet for a minute. "I regret the pain. I regret the time we lost. But if going through hell was the only way to get to where we are now, with both kids safe and our relationship stronger..."

"You'd do it again?"

"To end up here? With you looking at me like you trust me again? With Nova healthy and happy? With Asher feeling secure and loved?"

He stood up and came to where I was sitting, kneeling beside the rocking chair.

"I'd go through worse than what we survived if it meant keeping our family together."

I reached out and touched his face, feeling the slight stubble on his jaw. "I love you too, you know."

"Even after everything?"

"Especially after everything. We earned each other this time."

Kael kissed my palm, then rested his forehead against my hand. "I want to show you something."

"What?"

"Our room. If you're ready to see it."

Our room. The master suite we'd shared as newlyweds, before everything went wrong.

"Is it the same too?"

"Mostly. With a few updates."

I looked at Nova sleeping peacefully in my childhood bed. "She'll be fine here for a few minutes."

"She's surrounded by good memories. This room has always been a happy place."

He was right. Nothing bad had ever happened in this room. It was where I'd felt safest as a child, where I'd healed from scraped knees and broken hearts.

Now my daughter was sleeping here, starting her own collection of good memories.

"Show me," I said.

Kael took my hand and led me down the hall to the master suite. He paused with his hand on the doorknob.

"If it's too much, we can leave immediately."

"I'm ready."

He opened the door, and I stepped into the room we'd shared as husband and wife.