As Berry walked in the wake of the boy who had just rewritten the fate of her world, a sudden, warm clarity washed over her. It wasn't just the relief of survival or the adrenaline of the victory; it was the realisation of the why.
As she looked at his hand holding hers—his grip firm and certain—she understood the catalyst for every impossible risk he had taken.
Every secret he had unearthed, every "useless" spear he had forged, and every drop of sweat he had spilt under the blistering sun of the forge had been done with her safety as the singular goal.
It was all for her.
No girl, regardless of her lineage or the legendary status of her family, could remain indifferent to such a profound, selfless devotion.
It didn't matter that William was technically a child, or that he was shorter and thinner than the warriors of her clan.
