Varianth’s POV
I didn’t want to move. Not from her side. Not from this moment. I still couldn’t believe it. Everything went so fast. Feelings came crashing down without mercy.
Athena rested back against the pillows, eyes heavy with exhaustion but lit from within. She looked down at our son—Caelan—his tiny form sleeping peacefully in her arms. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They were everything. My past. My future. My home.
The bond that had flared to life between us was still humming through my chest. It was like a current connecting me to her—warm, steady, unbreakable.
I reached over to brush a hand over Caelan’s head again. His hair was already dark and soft, and his tiny fingers twitched in his sleep.
But then I saw something. Just beneath the curve of his neck. A small, faint shape.
At first I thought it was just a shadow. But then Athena shifted slightly and the light caught it perfectly. A mark. A soft, rose-shaped birthmark just beneath his left ear.
Exactly like hers.
My breath hitched.
Athena followed my gaze. I watched her eyes widen, her brows furrow as she leaned forward to look.
“Oh no,” she whispered, her voice tightening. “No, no, no…”
I looked at her, confused. “What’s wrong?”
She stared at the mark like it was a curse. “He has it. Just like me.”
I blinked, still not understanding. “You mean… the birthmark?”
She nodded slowly, pulling back her hair to reveal her own mark just behind her ear. It was identical.
“I’ve had it since birth,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was always something they used against me. Said it made me ugly. Marked. Cursed.”
My chest clenched.
“You don’t like it?” I asked gently.
She hesitated. “It always made me feel… different. Not in a good way. My parents hated it. Eryndor used to say it proved I didn’t belong. I was always hiding it.”
I stared at her, stunned.
How could something so small mean so much?
I reached out and gently touched the mark behind her ear. She flinched, just slightly, but didn’t pull away.
“I like it,” I said quietly.
She blinked, eyes filled with disbelief. “You… what?”
I looked down at Caelan, then back to her. “It’s part of you. It’s part of him. That’s what makes you both unique.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, like she didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve spent my whole life surrounded by people who wear perfection like armor,” I continued. “But you… you never needed that. You’ve always been real. Strong. Brave.”
Her lips trembled. I leaned closer, cupping her cheek with one hand.
“That mark?” I whispered. “It doesn’t make you less. It makes you unforgettable.”
Her tears came slowly, silently, slipping down her cheeks. “No one’s ever said that before.”
“They should have,” I said. “They should have worshipped you for it.”
She laughed softly through the tears. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m right,” I replied, brushing a thumb under her eye. “And now our son carries that same mark. It’s not a flaw. It’s a legacy.”
Athena looked down at Caelan again. Her expression changed—softened—like her heart was finally releasing years of shame and fear.
“You really think it’s beautiful?” she asked.
I didn’t hesitate. “I know it is.”