Private The Hourglass and the Landslide

[Ishani Dinn]

The Hourglass, the Netherworld

She could’ve just gone to the storefront. That part of the Hourglass was certainly easier to find, even by the topsy-turvy standards of the Nether. But once she discovered the location of the workshop itself, the almost forbidden nature of it was too much to resist.

Once upon a time, she wouldn’t have dared to venture near the place under threat of intervention by the likes of Kal of Kaas, or a more painful fear of rejection by ‘the Sandman’. But something had shifted as of late. Whether the change was in the Shadow, in Arcturus, or in Rhi herself, she didn’t know. But the old barriers seemed to be eroding over time, like sand worn away by the sea.

Regardless, nothing stopped her from entering the workshop in Tyrants’ Row. As her feet passed over the threshold, she released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and looked around. She wasn’t surprised to find its rundown, almost ramshackle state. This was exactly the sort of haunt she would expect Arcturus to hole himself up in.

Part of her felt guilty for intruding upon his private space, but it was Arc’s own fault for being so damned hard to reach. Pulling back the hood of her cloak, she closed the door behind her and stepped deeper into the workshop. So far she had yet to see the man himself. Hopefully he was actually here…

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"So what, that's... fifteen?" He glanced down at the golem which had been taking a tally as he walked through the supplies kept in the loft, and found Nwit nodding at him. "Yeah? Alright... Not ideal, but... Could be worse, right?"​

​

Right.​

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"Alright, let's check the---" The soft shuffle of feet down below tore his attention away from inventory, and he lifted a finger to his lips to indicate for silence from his little entourage of Living Clay. Not that they could speak, but they were noisy buggers when they wanted to be. Thudding all over the place... Now they were statuesque in their stillness.​

​

Gesturing for them to stay put, he removed his knife from its sheath and crept down the rickety old stairs. Creaking was, he realized too late, unavoidable. And there it was, mid way down, that he made his presence known. Damn old building.​

​

"Who's there?" he called out, since his cover was already blown. "This is private property..."​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She heard footsteps on the stairs, and instinctively moved out of sight. Only afterwards did she realize what she was doing. Hiding, keeping to the shadows. As if she were afraid to be seen by him.

Well, was she afraid?

"Who's there? This is private property..."

His voice ran through her, rattling her to her core. Despite her initial reluctance, she strained toward him, wanting to be nearer to him. It was that old magnetism. She’d been caught in his field ever since they met.

A sassy response was on her tongue, but she bit it back in favor of simple honesty. “It’s me, Arcturus,” she said, tentatively reaching out to rest her hand against the bottom of the stair railing. “I know it’s not my place to come here, but I didn’t know how else to find you. I hope you’re not upset with me for stopping by unannounced...”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Silence rang through the air in the wake of his question, and as he stepped further down the staircase he paused and peered out over the workshop floor. The shadows were not so dark for a man with a ring such as his, but even so he didn't spy her. Not immediately. Not until her voice broke that muted state.​

​

"Rhi..?" His voice made him seem almost perplexed, bewildered, by her presence. He could hardly believe his eyes when he spotted her, hand on the lowest balustrade and eyes drifting up toward him. Timid yet drawn. Well, frankly the same could be said of Arcturus. He stared at her unbreathing, unblinking, unmoving.​

​

Then all at once that spell broke and he took the stairs two at a time. "You... You came?.. Here? To the Nether?" He sounded equal parts impressed and proud, and as he reached that bottom step it was all he could do not to sweep her up off her feet. Deep down he wanted to, Chaos he did, but instead he forced himself into a more measured state.​

​

"Upset..? N-No. Not upset." Arcturus went back to staring, still hardly believing that she was there, before he remembered himself. "Chit, sorry, uh... Are you hungry? Thirsty? Sorry, I don't usually get guests here..." Guests? He winced at that use of the word insofar as she was concerned. "Not that you're a guest... Family. You're family." Feth.​

​

By now of course the dagger had been returned to its sheath, and in the absence of it in his hands he found them nervously rubbing together. He had no clue what to do or say, other than Kal and his brief visit from his father he'd been pretty devoid of company in this place for much too long now.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

For a few moments he stood still, just looking down at her. She stared back at him, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. It had been a while. They had left off on better terms than last time, but she hated not knowing the score. Just like she hated it every time they were apart.

The silence went on for an eternity, it seemed. Her grip on the balustrade tightened. Come down, please, or I will run up to you, she thought. I can’t bear this pull any longer…

Thankfully he moved first, taking the stairs two at a time. Her eyes never left him. They were a more vivid green now, giving her gaze a luminous intensity. Arcturus would recognize it as a sign of corruption. She could’ve done something to obscure it, but she wasn’t trying to hide what she had become from him. Quite the opposite.

“Yes,” she said, their proximity allowing her voice, normally soft-spoken, to drop into its usual range. “I’ve been to the Nether a few times before. I should know my way around by now.”

But this was the first time she’d found his workshop. The significance of that wasn’t lost on either of them.

Putting away his dagger (she hadn't even noticed it, her eyes glued to his face), he asked if she wanted anything to eat or drink. “No, thank you,” she answered, reaching up to pull her hair out of her cloak with a sweep of her hand. Long blonde curls tumbled down her back.

"Not that you're a guest... Family. You're family."

She gave him a little smile. “Well, I did bear your children and take your name.” There was no ring to bind them, though. Nothing official.

“You look good, Arc.” He seemed older, more mature. The boyishness in his face had all but disappeared. A man stood before her now. She could see the outline of toned muscles through his shirt. “I was afraid I’d find you wasting away, like last time.”

She still hadn’t said why she’d come here. The truth was, she’d wanted to visit him for some time. Rumors among the dead had finally spurred her on. Word had it the Sandman would be returning to the land of the living soon. She wanted to know why.

But more than that… “I wanted to see you,” she whispered, reaching for his hand.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"You took my name?"​

​

Somehow that was the thing which stuck out the most to him, even beyond her various forays through the Nether. He sounded breathless as he spoke, though it was impossible to tell if he'd received that news well or not. Instead he just stared in anticipation of the answer, heart thudding noisily. No food, no drink, just that last bit of space hanging between them.​

​

"I've been keeping busy" he said by way of an explanation for his newfound strength. It was true, he had matured into himself. The boyishness was all but gone, but there remained still a softness in his eyes, at least when he looked upon her.​

​

She reached for his hand, and he took hers in his own. Thumb flexed across the back of it, slow and timid as though afraid he might break the illusion. That he darent believe it was actually her. Here... In the flesh.​

​

"I'm glad you came" he whispered. Arcturus took a delicate step forward, his hand still in hers, and reached up to brush a stray curl from her face. Fingers trembled some as they touched her ear to tuck the hair behind, and then he brought them down across her cheek and jaw to gently lift her chin. Icy eyes met with emerald, and he held her there almost paralyzed in disbelief. "You're actually here" he breathed.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She nodded. “Rhiannon Dinn. It started out as a pseudonym, just in case someone recognized my name. I liked the sound of it, so I decided to make it official.”

He had been keeping busy. The shop may have been rundown, but it was full of his odds and ends, projects still in the process of being completed. No sign of his hard work was clearer than the muscles along his arms and chest.

His hand slipped into hers. She weaved her fingers between his, eyelids lowering as she felt the slow stroke of his thumb. Her heart beat faster, as much from nervousness as from excitement.

She had expected resistance. After all, he had held her at arms’ length even before he had left her. But she found nothing but empty space between them. Their bond wasn’t so dead after all.

Her eyes closed in anticipation as he tucked her hair back, his calloused fingers brushing over her cheek. Force, but she wanted to close the distance. Uncertainty stayed her feet. Hadn’t their last kiss been aboard the Vixen, right before he…? No, she wouldn’t look to the past. Not out of nostalgic longing, nor to nurse old wounds.

"You're actually here."

Her eyes opened again, meeting his. “This is where I want to be,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “I only wish I had come here sooner. It was silly. I was afraid you might not want me here…” Leaning forward slowly, she brushed her lips against his in the barest of kisses, teasing him to go further.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Official. Everything besides the ring and the ceremony cemented them as a true pairing, shared names, children... It was a dizzying thought. The Galaxy kept thrusting them together, as though bound by the hands of fate, yet they resisted. No, he realized... He resisted. He'd thought himself incapable of it, undeserving. They were Sith, they couldn't have families and love and unions right? Only his recent talks with his father had muddied that notion for him. Married and expectant, if Maliphant had managed to secure such an existence then why couldn't he?​

​

Why was he still pushing back?​

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"It suits you" he said, before seeking out her gaze. "And the children..?" Had they taken his name too? Arcturus wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer to that, he hoped of course that they had but in the event that they hadn't he wasn't sure he could handle it. Not yet at least. Still he'd asked, he couldn't unsay the question.​

​

With Rhiannon here before him now, he couldn't help but wonder why he'd been so afraid to commit. Everything else seemed so insignificant now, even where his fears concerning the children were concerned. Was their possible life together really so bad? There was so much he could teach them, show them. His own childhood had been squandered, but that didn't mean the same had to be said of the twins.​

​

He doubted she was here for that though. It only left him wondering why she was here... Before he could ask her hand was on his cheek.​

​

"It's been so long I hardly remember why I kept my distance" he whispered, the hand at her chin moving to delicately cup her cheek. "I have been a fool, Rhi--" Soft lips brushed against his own, and for a moment he just breathed it in. Featherlight, fleeting, it felt almost out of reach. Like grasping at clouds. Why was he resisting? Were they really undeserving of such?​

​

His hand slipped free from hers, and gently settled upon her waist as he deepened the kiss.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Marcus and Eloise Dinn,” she replied, and in a playful yet bashful tone added, “Honestly, you might as well hammer out the rings on your forge already. Let your golems be the witnesses.” A little bit of levity to help break the tension.

The “real” reason why she had come remained at the back of her mind, but this took precedence. The reconciliation between them had been a long time coming, the last of the barriers between them falling away. “You were afraid, Arc,” she answered softly. “So was I.” Was it just time that had changed his mind? Somehow she doubted that, but all her questions could be answered later.

One arm wrapped around his neck, the fingers of her other hand buried in his red hair, her lips devouring his. Her cloak rippled strangely, dark wings flexing beneath the fabric that concealed them. He hadn’t seen them yet, and while she felt some trepidation about him discovering them as his arm encircled her waist, she doubted it would prove an issue. Just another new curiosity to talk about after…

“Do you sleep here?” she asked when they had no choice but to stop to breathe. The question was obviously suggestive, but the look she gave him was gentle and eager to please. They could take things slow.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"You uh, don't really hammer out rings" he mumbled with something of a lopsided grin as he fought to process everything. "Marcus and Eloise Dinn..." His heart soared to hear it, and there was a slight prickling in his eyes. "I never thought I'd have a name to pass on" he whispered, "Much less children to share it with."​

​

Rings... Were rings such a bad idea?​

​

Afraid. So it was fear which had kept them apart then, even when each wanted the other. That sounded on par with him and his cowardly ways, didn't it? Afraid to commit. "Are you still afraid?" he asked, before their lips met. He found himself wholly engulfed by her presence, the workshop drifting away from his focus. Her scent was unmistakable, sweet and peppered with strawberries, and as their embrace deepened he slipped his hand up to brush through her curls. His lips parted, and he gently pulled her closer by her waist.​

​

The rippling didn't go unnoticed, but it was ignored for now. Cast aside. Whatever it was that had changed could be dealt with later.​

​

Her question caught him slightly off guard, and as he caught his breath and held her gaze with his own he nodded sheepishly. "Uh, sort of... There's a bedroll somewhere." Arcturus shrugged, apparently his living conditions weren't principal amongst his concerns. Who chose to sleep in a bedroll? Swallowing down his nerves, he settled his forehead against her own.​

​

"Why are you here, Rhi?" he finally asked, needing the answer more than he needed the air his lungs so desperately sought. Arcturus couldn't risk defrosting his heart with so many uncertainties laying amongst them.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

His lopsided grin got her to smile back. “Well, I’ll leave the ring-forging to you, because clearly I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“Things don’t always turn out the way we think they will. Sometimes in bad ways, and sometimes in good ways.” Her smile softened, but didn’t disappear. “No,” she said. “I’m not afraid anymore. Are you?”

The kiss may well have been his answer. She stayed close to him, sharing his breath. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor,” she murmured.

But he wanted to know why she was really here. So much for putting it off. “To see you,” she answered. “To be with you… and because I heard you were coming back to Realspace.” If the rumor was true, she wanted to know why.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It would be an interesting project, wouldn't it? He'd made rings before, of course, held one of his own creations upon his finger even now, but there was a difference between random artificing and, well, the purpose of such rings they spoke about. The most difficult part was trying to see how serious she was about it. At first it had seemed like just an attempt at levity, but now?​

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Well... He wasn't so sure.​

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"Maybe that's the point," he said, "Maybe not knowing makes the good at that much greater..." Arcturus was hardly a poetic man, but he had moments where his prosaic state shifted toward eloquence. She claimed that she wasn't afraid, not in the way they had been, and indeed the kiss did contain his answer. The way in which he deepened it, and drew her close. The touch of his hand stroking up her cheek and through her hair. The way in which he inhaled her scent and clung to the memories which drifted into existence as a result.​

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"To fear is human" he finally replied, "But I won't let it dictate my life any more, Rhi."​

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She spoke of the floor, and he shook his head with a twinkle of humour. Then talks turned just a touch more serious, and he listened intently as she explained her reasons. They mounted into what he presumed was the real reason: he was planning to return to the Galaxy. To Realspace.​

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"I have been gone for too long" he said in confirmation of her unsaid question, "I do not regret the time I've spent here, practicing my craft, but I'm letting life get away from me. So yes, you heard true..." That wasn't to say he was forsaking the Nether entirely, Chaos he would never, but he hadn't been back to Realspace since retreating to the Hourglass. "I think it's time."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

She was more serious than she let on. The levity also served as a screen, a way of testing the waters. If he had reacted badly to the notion, she could’ve pulled back and just called it a joke. But it wasn’t, not really.

“Then… Would you like to get married?” The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to second guess herself. “Or are you returning for a different purpose?” Something you might not want me or the children involved in.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus stared at her for a moment, mouth agape.​

​

"Are you... Proposing?" It was asked almost incredulously, though there wasn't a hint of displeasure upon his face all the same. Just surprise. "Or are you hinting that you'd like me to?" Her follow up question had his brows furrowing. "Can't it be both?"​

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He realized that by asking such he'd pretty much given her an answer. Still, it didn't seem right to leave it at that, what sort of man would he be if that was the method by which he proposed? His gaze shifted across the room, to an area by the window where various plants grew. Greenery amidst the ashen landscape of the rest of the workshop, its vibrancy was brilliant.​

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The Force thrummed around them, and one of the plants developed a vining offshoot which twisted across the ground toward them, stopping by his feet. Arcturus sank to a knee, and looked up at her. One last chance to ensure it was what she actually wanted... He saw no doubt in her eyes though, and in spite of his fears he found none in himself either.​

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He held out a hand toward the plant, watching as it weaved its vine into a braided band. He clipped it free, and the vine retreated back toward the window until he relinquished his hold of it through the Force. Then he looked to Rhi, and raised it toward her. "I'd like it to be both... If you'll have me?"​

​

Far from a perfect ring, and no doubt just a stand-in, but something was better than nothing.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Are you... Proposing?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"Or are you hinting that you'd like me to?"

Her smile grew to a blushing grin. "If you like."

"Can't it be both?"

She hummed. Maybe she should've phrased her question better. "As long as the two aren't in conflict, I mean." I'm letting life get away from me was a little vague, after all.

He dropped to one knee. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the vines braid into a ring, then presented it to her. "Yes," she breathed, her throat too tight to manage much else. She held out her hand for him to slip it on her finger.

Then she lowered herself as well, getting down on her knees in front of him. She reached into her pocket and produced an electrum band. It was a simple thing, with leaves on the vine engraved around it. Oddly well-matched to the one he had made. "Family heirloom," she said. "Belonged to one of my ancestors. My parents saved it for me. I... I took it with me to the Academy." Yes, she'd had it with her for that long. Originally she had taken it with the intent of maybe selling it if she ever needed the money, but after she met Arc, well... "It may not fit you, but that's what resizes are for." With a trembling hand, she held it out to him.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It all seemed to happen so quickly. One moment it was just a vague, lighthearted act of levity, and the next he was on his knee before her extending a natural band of greenery. Her response was curt and breathless, and soon enough he had the ring slipped onto the correct finger. A perfect fit.​

​

Much to his surprise, that wasn't the end of it. She sank to her knees before him, and he was left in anticipation of an embrace or a kiss or whatever other couples did when they agreed to a proposal. What he didn't expect was for her to produce a ring of her own. It was almost haunting how similar it was in concept to that which he'd just conjured up of the earth, wrought through with metallic leaves. Electrum, he could tell it for what it was almost immediately.​

​

Put his to shame in truth, but if anything it just gave him more of a reason to work hard on getting her a band she truly deserved.​

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"You're proposing too?" He'd never heard of a joint proposal like this taking place, but then nothing about their relationship had been by the book. He slipped his right hand up to caress her cheek while hi left extended toward the offered ring. "I mean, yes, of course..."​

​

What a whirlwind.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

He seemed so surprised, she couldn’t help but smirk a bit. “A happy coincidence, hm?”

But it was clear that she had come prepared. She had intended this, should the opportunity present itself.

She leaned into his touch as she slipped the ring onto his finger. The band fit well, though it was a little looser than it probably should have been. “Oh…” she murmured at the sight of her hand and his, a bit of moisture leaking from her eyes and down her cheek despite her best attempts to not cry. The whirlwind had finally hit her. This was really happening. She pressed his hand to her lips, swaying a bit on her knees in ecstasy.

Now what? She looked up at him, wet eyes a murky green. There were words she thought about saying, but she couldn’t remember any of them now. “I love you,” she said, pulling him close again. Was that all that mattered? Her wings, her corrupted eyes, the things she had done since he left her. The things he had done, which he had yet to reveal. None of it could stop them.

There was one thing that did make her hesitate, though. “The children. Should we bring them with us?” Wherever they were going.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Her tears were much more forthcoming than his own which had barely surfaced in his eyes, staved off by sheer willpower alone. Brushing them away as they ran down her cheeks, Arcturus reveled in her beauty. It had been much too long since he'd seen her. Her lips sought out his hand once the ring had been slipped into place, and then she wavering on the spot. He reached out to stabilize her.​

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"I love you too, Rhi" he confessed timidly, as though they hadn't just proposed or anything. Her question left him thoughtful, though not for long. Then he nodded his head firmly. "They should be with their parents, Rhi. Whatever life has in store for us, we should face it together. As a family." Wasn't that the point of the rings? To unite them as one...​

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Leaning in, he settled his lips to her forehead. "Is that okay with you?"​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Well, this was quite a turnaround from his earlier attitude toward the children. “No more thinking that you’re soiled goods, too corrupt for them? ‘Toxic and contagious’?” she asked. “And you’re not still struggling to control your, ah, ‘gutbeast’, right?”

Admittedly, Rhi had changed her mind too. Where once she would have wanted to protect the twins from anything associated with the Sith, now she had become the boogeyman. It hadn’t stopped her from loving them.

Yet she had still left them with her parents, fearing that she was unfit to raise them. If they were going to be a family, they would have to go get Marcus and Eloise. She wasn’t looking forward to that conversation with her folks.

“Arc, you know that I… I’ve done some pretty bad things since you left.” Reaching behind her, she pulled her cloak aside, revealing the leathery bat-like wings that had sprouted from her back. “Your mentor did this to me after Tython… the squid guy.” She still couldn’t pronounce Tsisar's name properly. “That was where it started. After that I went out in search of ancient Sith knowledge and artifacts. I hurt people, fed off of them to gain greater power. I started a cult. I even took a Darth name. Darth Miasma.” Leaning toward him, her brow furrowed. “We’re Sith. There’s no getting around that now. No matter how much we try to protect them, once they’re with us… the corruption will spread to them, too. It’s only a matter of time.”

She could accept that, if it meant having a cohesive family. The question was, could he?

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus hummed as he considered his response. Soiled. Corrupted. Toxic. Contagious. Tainted... To say nothing of his gutbeast.​

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"No parent is perfect" he professed, "Not mine, not yours... But we do what we can, right? We love, and we cherish, and we care... So we're not shining beacons of light, or regular old worker bees... We aren't rich or revered... But I don't think we need to be. Marcus and Eloise... I think more than any of that, they just want us to be there. Present."​

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As her confessions came, Arcturus found his gaze drifting over the revealed wings. Leathery and batlike, when she revealed their source his eyes widened slightly. "Master Taral?" Yes, it did seem like something he'd do didn't it? He reached out toward the left wing, though his fingers never actually brushed against it. Just sort of hovered above. The more she spoke the deeper it seemed she had succumbed. It had been obvious in her eyes of course, that hint of corruption brightening up her green iris', but being so openly confronted by it was something else.​

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He could have pulled back, rescinded his proposal and demanded she leave. She had spoken of how easily they could corrupt the children, after all. That should have pushed him away if nothing else. Instead he slipped his hand back to her cheek, pressing forehead to forehead. "Your parents would teach them to fear the Force. Jedi would use them as pawns in their self-righteous battles... Yes, we are Sith... But that doesn't mean theirs is a hopeless fate. Freedoms lie at the core of our beliefs, do they not?"​

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Arcturus let go of the last shreds of uncertainty, those feelings of unworthiness he'd nursed ever since she'd revealed them to him in the first place. "All we can do is provide them the resources and security, where they end up... That's not for us to decide."​

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His free hand reached for hers. "I want my children back, Rhiannon. I want our children with us."​

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Ishani Dinn ​