Two hearts were entangled together at that fleeting moment. One was at peace while the other, chaos he had never felt in what seemed more than centuries was creating storms that he could not control. The burning fire he had seen in her eyes was burning him. Her arms, once ready to fight, softened ever so slightly wrapped around his cold, unyielding body. The gentle rise and fall of her breath were like an invitation to a softness he had long forgotten, stirring the memory of once when he was vulnerable, one he had buried beneath centuries of bloodlust and detachment. His instincts were telling him to pull back but his body betrayed him for a second, frozen by the touch he never knew he could crave. Her heartbeat, mingling with her scent weakened the wall he had built painstakingly.
"You are okay. I thought… they… they…" Ravenna whimpered under his neck unwilling to let go. "Alaric, why am I …crying? I don't feel good. My heart is in pain and I don't know why."
