Chapter 195 LAST CONVERSATION
DAMIEN’s POV
The silence stretches long enough that I begin to count it.
Each second without movement feels heavier than the last. My hand remains pressed against Selene’s chest, waiting for the next rise, the next fragile sign that her body still fights to remain here with me.
When her breath finally comes, it is so faint that it barely disturbs the air between us.
Relief does not follow.
It should, but it does not.
Something inside me understands that this rhythm is failing, that the pauses between each breath have begun to stretch beyond what her body can sustain. The knowledge settles deep in my chest, sharp and unwelcome, pressing against the fragile thread of hope I refuse to release.
“Selene,” I murmur again, my voice lower now, steadier only because I force it to be.
Her head rests against my arm, her hair brushing softly against my skin. The faint silver glow beneath her skin flickers unevenly, rising and falling in time with the unstable pulse of energy inside her chest.
I feel both rhythms clearly.
The mortal heartbeat that belongs to her.
And the second pulse that does not.
They clash beneath my palm with growing strain, each beat arriving with less certainty than the one before it.
Kael remains beside me, his presence steady and silent. The wolves still kneel across the battlefield, their collective grief settling into a quiet that feels almost sacred.
No one speaks or moves.
The world waits.
Selene exhales again, the sound barely audible.
Then, slowly, her lashes begin to tremble.
The movement is small.
So small that for a moment I think it is another trick of failing light and desperate hope.
Then her eyes open.
The shift is gradual, her gaze unfocused at first as if she is returning from a place far beyond the reach of the world around us. The silver glow in her eyes flickers faintly, dimmer than I have ever seen it, yet still unmistakably hers.
My breath catches in my throat.
“Selene.”
Her gaze moves slowly, searching, until it finds mine.
The moment her eyes lock onto me, something inside my chest breaks open.
She is here.
She came back.
Relief crashes through me so sharply that it nearly steals the strength from my arms. I tighten my hold on her instinctively, as if I can anchor her more firmly to this moment by refusing to let even an inch of distance exist between us.
“You came back,” I say, the words leaving me in a rough whisper.
Her lips part slightly, though it takes a moment before any sound follows.
“I told you…” she begins softly, her voice thin and strained, “I was still here.”
The sound of her voice steadies something inside me.
“You are,” I reply immediately. “And you are staying.”
Her gaze softens faintly at my words, though the exhaustion in her expression deepens.
“The world…” she murmurs, her eyes drifting briefly past me as if she can see something beyond the battlefield. “It will survive now.”
I shake my head sharply.
“That was never the question.”
Her attention returns to me, her focus sharpening slightly despite the weakness pulling at her.
“You gave them a future,” I continue, my voice tightening as I speak. “Now you stay and live in it.”
A faint smile touches her lips.
It is not the bright, defiant smile she once wore when she challenged everything the world tried to make her. This one is softer, touched with something heavier.
Understanding.
“You always ask for more,” she says quietly.
“Because you always give everything,” I answer.
Her gaze lingers on mine, and for a moment the world beyond us seems to fall away entirely. The falling fragments of the shattered moon, the glowing forest, the kneeling wolves, all of it fades into the background as I focus on the woman in my arms.
Kael shifts slightly beside us, drawing Selene’s attention.
She turns her head just enough to look at him.
He is already watching her.
There is no guardedness in his expression now, no distance or restraint. Whatever stood between them before has been stripped away by everything that has happened.
He lowers himself fully onto one knee beside her.
“Selene,” he says, his voice quiet but steady.
She studies him for a moment, her gaze clear despite the strain in her body.
“You look like you have something to say,” she murmurs faintly.
Kael exhales slowly, as if gathering the words he has held back for far too long.
“You saved them,” he says. “All of them.”
His gaze shifts briefly toward the wolves still kneeling across the battlefield.
“You changed everything we are,” he continues. “What we can become.”
Selene watches him in silence.
Kael’s voice softens further.
“Thank you.”
The words carry a weight that reaches far beyond gratitude.
Selene’s expression shifts slightly, something fragile passing through her eyes.
“You do not owe me thanks,” she replies quietly.
“We do,” Kael says firmly. “Whether you accept it or not.”
A faint breath escapes her, almost a laugh though there is no strength behind it.
“I made a choice,” she says. “The same way all of you would have.”
Kael shakes his head once.
“Not like that.”
Silence settles between them for a moment.
Selene’s gaze drifts back to me.
“I am sorry,” she says softly.
The words hit harder than anything else she has said.
“For what?” I ask immediately.
“For this,” she replies, her voice weakening further. “For what it cost you.”
My grip tightens around her.
“You do not apologize for saving the world,” I say.
“I did not only save it,” she answers. “I changed it.”
Her eyes flicker faintly, the silver light within them dimming further.
“The Goddess is still there,” she continues quietly. “Inside the seal.”
I feel the truth of her words through the bond.
The divine presence remains contained within the structure she built, silent yet aware, pressing gently against its boundaries.
“She cannot escape,” Selene adds.
“How can you be sure?” Kael asks.
Selene’s gaze shifts slightly, as if she is looking inward rather than outward.
“Because the seal is not separate from me,” she says. “It is me.”
The weight of those words settles heavily between us.
“As long as I hold it,” she continues, “she remains contained.”
My chest tightens.
“And how long can you hold it?” I ask.
Her eyes return to mine.
A quiet understanding passes through them.
“As long as I remain,” she says.
The meaning settles in slowly, piece by piece, until it forms something I refuse to accept.
“You are remaining,” I say firmly.
Her expression softens again.
“You are stubborn,” she murmurs.
“And you are staying,” I repeat.
Her strength is fading.
I can feel it in the way her body rests heavier against my arms, in the way her breathing struggles to maintain even the faint rhythm it still holds.
Her gaze remains locked on mine.
“I wanted more time,” she admits softly.
The words cut deeper than anything else.
“So take it,” I say immediately.
Her lips curve faintly again.
“You make it sound simple.”
“It is,” I insist.
Her eyes search mine for a moment longer.
Then the light within them flickers.
Her breathing falters.
“Selene,” I say sharply.
Her gaze remains on me, but it begins to lose focus, the clarity slipping away as the strength holding her here starts to break.
“I am still here,” she whispers.
Then her body grows heavier in my arms as her strength begins to slip away while she is still looking at me.