he tilts his head with a soft teasing look. "...I have no idea what you mean, I just came to check in on a friend and offer her to join me in finding another sweet or...to escort her in refilling whatever was in this glass?" he lightly taps it with his own glass, a silent and hopeful invitation in his eyes as he waits for her verdict. "I could even sit here and join you instead, if that's what you'd prefer? and the party is gorgeous, let the high lady know she has set the bar quite high for this new season...you both out did yourselves...but, is there anything I can do for you? no matter how big or small?"

she gave him a look as he insisted he had no idea what she meant ⸻ aurelia was no fool and knew the subject of the implosion of her love life was to be addressed eventually. just, not right now. it was humiliating enough, watching her lover hover around the high lady of dawn instead of herself. the priestess laughed softly as callum clinked his glass with her own. the day court emissary always knew how to brighten her mood, even just a little.

" you're too kind, cal. " she said softly, scooting over so he could join her on the ground. a quiet confirmation that she was accepting his offer to just sit with her. " you needn't put yourself out for me. " aurelia insisted, to his offer of anything he could do for her. " thank you. lizeth seems pleased with the party, i am glad. " she mused.

"It is only a game, Aurelia." He paused, his golden eyes fixed on hers. "Lizeth is lovely... I suppose. Dignified, composed, predictable. And yet she could never hold a candle to you." The bond was a constant pressure in his chest, a thread tied to his ribs that pulled him toward her with every breath. He could feel it humming beneath his skin, demanding he close the distance and make this right. It had snapped for him weeks ago, blinding and overwhelmingly certain. Aurelia was his mate, his equal, the other half of his soul. He wondered if she could feel it, too.

He reached out, fingers brushing against her hand. The contact sent a jolt through him. How he wanted to tell her, to explain that this was more than just guilt and more than just regret. But he couldn't. Not when she was looking at him like he was a stranger.

"I know I've hurt you in ways I cannot undo. I know I've broken your trust. But you're the only one I have ever wanted and the only one I will ever need."

" only a game. " the brunette repeated quietly, as if she was trying to understand. she wasn't, couldn't even be bothered to understand the game he was playing with the high lady of dawn ⸻ with her own heart. love was not a game, not in aurelia's mind. to have the whole of the dawn court looking at her that day, all of them knowing she had just been tossed aside like apollo's leftovers; it was humiliating. the priestess had been dodging people's questions about it for weeks now, claiming she knew and that it was not a shock. words that felt bitter on her lips.

despite how angry she was, how hurt she felt ⸻ aurelia didn't pull away as his touch brushed against her hand. so long without feeling him, she ached for more though she should not. if not for the morals that she would not take another's intended, but for herself to have standards after what he'd done to her. his words were sweet, that much she could not deny. they were what she wanted to hear, that she was the important one. she was the one that lived in his heart.

He stepped forward, boots soft on the worn stone, and stopped a few feet behind her. He could still see her face. The moment he had looked up from the proposal, from Lizeth's smile and the crowd's applause, and seen her standing in the doorway. He hadn't expected her to be there. Hadn't accounted for her at all. And the look on her face: the shock, the hurt, the way she had gone pale. It was seared into his memory.

"It is only a piece of paper," he said, his voice flat and hollow. "A contract. A transaction." The sunset was fading, the colors bleeding into twilight, and he still didn't know how to say what he needed to say. The bond was there, a constant pressure in his chest that urged him on and made everything feel sharper, brighter, and harder to ignore. He moved closer, his chest almost brushing her back, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her. His hand slide from her shoulder to the curve of her arm.

"My heart will only ever be yours, Aurelia."

only a piece of paper. aurelia scoffed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls of the temple. a harsh sound in such a peaceful place. she was unmoving as he attempted to convince her, standing so close to her she could nearly feel his breath. the priestess tensed when she felt his hand slide down her shoulder towards the curve of her arm, such a familiar action from someone who now felt like such a stranger to her.

" how can you say that? " she asked, the words barely above a whisper as her head turned slightly to glance at him from over her shoulder. " one moment you were in my bed and the next ⸻ your marriage was announced and i have not seen you since. " aurelia had dwelled on that day, the day his betrothal to lizeth was formally announced, every single night she fell asleep. tried to, anyway, but sleep seldom came easy to her these days.

" all this time, " the priestess started, pulling her arm away to turn and look at him as she spoke. " all this time, while you were claiming to love me ⸻ you were courting her. " it was the only thing that made sense. their betrothal had not come out of nowhere, it could not have and aurelia had been blinded by her love for him. a breathy, humorless laugh escaped her as she looked upon him for the first time in weeks. she wanted to curse how the sight of him made her heart clench with agony yet still beat with tenderness. " how can you lie to me, even now? if you loved me, why would you choose to break me like this? "

✷         “ priestess aurelia,  ” meilin utters, a delicate hand swiftly moving to cover her mouth. she'd just taken a bite out of a dewdrop cake—  their taste divine. she swallows, red lips stretching into a soft smile as she responds to the bow with one of her own. “ how lovely it is to stand in your presence once more. the gardens of dawn are breathtaking. ”

a bittersweet reunion, is what meilin thinks. the last time she’d seen the high priestess of dawn was during her mother’s funeral. the wound still fresh, healing painfully slow. though as she stares at the brunette a wave of gentle nostalgia overtakes her. the three of them had shared some beautiful moments together. “  she would’ve loved to be here today. mother carried a special fondness for dawn in particular— and i most certainly can see why that is. ”

" they truly are breathtaking, high lady lizeth did a wonderful job preparing the garden for the party. " she mused. of course she had helped ⸻ but only where lizeth wanted her input and her guidance. she was careful not to overstep, to be where needed but also to put a word or two in where she felt necessary. the high priestess couldn't help how her smile was saddened by the mention of meilin's mother ⸻ she could see her now, in the gardens with her mentor, aqssa.

" she and aqssa both would have loved it. " aurelia agreed with a sigh. the loss of her mentor was something she tried not to dwell on too much, though in times such as this she would have loved to her the former high priestess's thoughts on everything. personal or not.

the brunette watched as meilin's gaze looked over the gardens, so lively with faces even aurelia did not recognize. " it is quite exciting, i don't believe i've ever seen dawn so alight. so many faces from so many corners of mistvale. " she agreed, but she could see the worry in the lady's eyes ⸻ something she was trained as high priestess to see in others. need, be it for comfort, for a listening ear or a hand to hold. " why is that, my lady? " aurelia questioned, wondering if she was referring to the loss of her mother, the ascension of her brother to high lord or something else the priestess was unaware of.

░　　　#001.　　　he doesn't say that he's had it before.　that, once, it was on the lips of another.　such thoughts, he determines, are a poor attempt at stabbing a bleeding heart and shall be dismissed.　his shadows swarm it, sharks sniffing crimson.　"sweetness is best at its most bitter."　it's too easy to drain his cup.　it's less easy to summon a smile he doesn't feel, but the presence of the high priestess demands his grace　----　the heat of dawn is familiar enough to his flame to temper it.　"the berry wine is lucky to earn your favor. are there any other preferences you keep that a visitor should know?"

" i suppose so " aurelia smiled, though the smile was empty. null and void of any cheer that may come with such a sentiment ⸻ for she knew the bitterness that came from sweetness all too well. " well, " she mused, beginning to think about what a visitor should taste about her home that she so adored. " the lemon and lavender tarts are incredible, as are the white peach ones. " aurelia hadn't thought about the things she loved in her home much of late, to be forced to think and wonder about it ⸻ it eased the ache in her heart, even if only for a moment. " fresh and bright are flavors done best here, as fresh as morning dew. "