VIOLET’S POV“Again… Come on, Marrek. Just one more step.”My voice trembles, but I force a smile.He wobbles between us.Tiny fingers stretched wide. Legs unsure. Eyes burning with stubborn determination that doesn’t belong to a child.Silvan crouches a few feet away, arms open, steady as stone, but his gaze is anything but calm.“Come to me, son,” he murmurs.Son.The word hits something deep inside my chest—something fragile… something dangerous.Marrek grunts in frustration.His foot lifts.Drops.Lifts again.I stop breathing.“Good,” I whisper, barely holding myself together. “You’re doing so good.”He stumbles forward.One step.Then another.And then—He crashes straight into Silvan.A bright, unrestrained laugh bursts out of him, wild and alive, and something inside me cracks wide open.Silvan catches him easily, lifting him high like he weighs nothing.“That’s my boy.”Marrek squeals, grabbing at his face, his hair—anything he can reach.“Should we go again?” Silvan asks, hi
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