Silence stretched between them, until seconds felt like minutes. And with every passing one, Lucrezia could feel the rise of hairs on her skin, and apprehension within her chest.
Vespera didn't answer at once. Her hand, which had been resting so easily against Purity's neck, stilled, and the white mare shifted faintly beneath her touch, sensing the change before Lucrezia fully registered it.
The wind moved through the yard in a thin, cutting breath, until finally, she turned, and with something close to uncertainty, "You worry for him," She said at last. Lucrezia felt the question or observation somehow… impossible.
She swallowed. There was no point denying it. "Yes," the admission felt heavier out loud, which felt very foreign to her.
Vespera exhaled slowly, her breath turning to mist between them, and replied. "Vaeron does not break easily,"
