Page 261 of When Sisters Collide
She rose to her feet and beckoned Kaixo over, her throat tightening. He came running at first, still flushed with joy, Apollo bouncing beside him. But the moment his gaze landed on Leukos, his smile faltered.
Damona’s hands settled on her son’s shoulders, while Leywani stood beside Alena, a steady pillar against the swell of tension. Leukos crouched before Kaixo, speaking in low, careful tones. Apollo circled them, ears flicking at every sound, thenpadded up to the boy, his amber eyes watchful. Kaixo leaned into the wolf, one hand buried in the thick fur at his neck.
Leukos ruffled the boy’s hair, murmured something too soft to catch, then rose and stepped back, his jaw taut, face shadowed.
Alena approached next, and Kaixo threw his arms around Apollo’s neck, burying his face in the wolf’s fur. His fingers curled tight, his shoulders trembling, though he said nothing.
She lifted a hand, longing to smooth his hair, but hesitated. “Damona and Lug will care for you as if you were their own,” she whispered. “You’ll be safe here. And if danger comes closer, you’ll go north, far away from all this.”
Kaixo nodded, still avoiding her gaze. “Do you have to bring Apollo?” he murmured into the wolf’s thick coat. Apollo turned his head and licked the boy’s cheek as if to comfort him.
“Yes,” she said gently. “The Huntress’ magic won’t hold across great distances.”
“But he could stay with me.” Kaixo sniffled, running a hand along the wolf’s flank. “I’d take care of him. I’d be good.”
“I know you would.” She touched Apollo’s head, earning a low whine from the wolf. “But he’s wild, and his place isn’t in a home.” Her voice wavered, but she forced herself to go on. “Leukos and I?—”
Kaixo’s wide eyes welled with tears, already knowing what she was about to say. Alena’s throat tightened. “We’ll come back for you, Kaixo. I promise. As soon as we’re able, we’ll return.”
She reached for him one last time, but he pulled back, his arms tightening around Apollo’s neck instead.
The rejection stung deep, but she simply nodded, swallowing the grief that clawed up her throat. She had left Kaixo too many times, and now he didn’t believe her anymore.
Maybe he never would again.
She told herself it was for the best. Safer. Damona could give him what she couldn’t—a steady home, someone to rely on.
Alena tried to memorise every detail of Kaixo’s face—the round cheeks, the chestnut curls dancing in the breeze, his small fingers buried in Apollo’s thick fur as if anchoring him.
Her vision swam. She rose before the tears could fall. “All right,” she whispered, a brittle smile on her lips. “We’ll be off, then.”
Kaixo pressed a kiss to Apollo’s head, then glanced up at her, his nose red, fighting not to cry.
Alena turned away before she broke. Apollo padded at her heels. She met Damona’s eyes and nearly crumbled at the understanding in them.
Alena wanted to thank her, but the words wouldn’t come.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Damona murmured, pulling her into a firm embrace. “On my life, Alena—I swear it.”
Leywani was next, her arms tightening as she sniffled against Alena’s shoulder. “This isn’t goodbye,” she whispered fiercely. “We’ll see each other again. Katell, too. I’m sure of it. Just… be careful out there.”
Alena swallowed against the tightness in her throat and nodded. She dared one last glance at Kaixo, willing him to understand, to believe she meant her promise this time.
But he said nothing. Just stood there, silent and hurting, stubborn to the last.
Turning away was the hardest thing she had ever done. And in that moment, she understood Katell in a way she never had before: the unbearable choice her sister had faced in that slaver’s camp—to let her go in order to protect her, even if it meant losing her. Just as Alena was doing now with Kaixo.
Leukos and Apollo flanked her, their presence a quiet anchor, though her chest threatened to crack open. They walked through the village in silence. A handful of men lingered near thebarn, re-thatching the roof, but without Volcos and his warriors, the place felt hollow—like a hearth gone cold.
Apollo bounded ahead, slipping through a gap in the palisade, off to find Otxoa waiting in the forest beyond. Alena and Leukos walked on until he drew her against his side, his arm firm around her shoulders. She sank into his warmth, clutching his waist.
“He’ll be safe,” Leukos murmured into her hair.
She nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
At the gates, Nik, Theo, and a few Westerners were saddling horses, their faces shadowed by the weight of what lay ahead. Theo spotted them first, raising his hand in greeting—until hurried footsteps rang out behind them.
“Alena!”
