#Chapter 196 – A Buried Bond

Lila The weeks blurred together into more of a rhythm than a tracking of time. Wake, feed, rest, repeat. I lost track of where one night ended and the next began, of when the sun rose or set beyond the windows. All that mattered was the tiny weights pressed against me, the soft cries that summoned me from sleep, the fragile warmth of new life at my breast. Exhaustion lived in my bones, deeper than battle training, deeper than exile, deeper even than labor itself. My body ached everywhere, as though carved hollow and filled again with lead. And yet, every time my children stirred, every time they latched onto me with those desperate little sounds, I felt a tenderness so sharp it eclipsed the weariness. I would trace their faces with the tip of my finger, marvel at the curve of their nose, the way their fists curled tightly only to release against my skin. The way they reached out for each other even in sleep. The world had shrunk to their breath, their scent, their tiny