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Ingram’s head tilted sharply at that. “It would not?”

“Oh! Now I get it. Orpheus is right,” Magnar exclaimed, before letting out a deep chuckle. “There are different kinds of bonds and love. For instance, I love Delora. She is my female and bride, but I also hold a place within me for Fyodor, our youngling. You do not need two hearts, just enough room for both. Or more, if you so choose it.” Then Magnar grumbled and tossed his head side to side as he bashfully said, “Orpheus, although quite prickly at times, is important to me. He is my... friend as much as my brother. He helped me with Delora and many other things. There is a place for him and Reia within my heart as well.”

Orpheus turned his head away as his orbs shifted to a reddish pink. “Reia should not be in your heart at all,” he grumbled awkwardly. “But thank you.”

Magnar chuckled again and stepped away from Orpheus’ side while gesturing to him, as if to say, ‘See?’

“I can have both?” Ingram asked.

“Yes,” Orpheus confirmed.

Why did learning this make his chest swell with emotion?

Perhaps he should have spent more time with the other Mavka, rather than being constantly at Emerie’s side. He hadn’t been particularly interested in learning about them other than what he accidentally observed while sitting in their presence.

He hadn’t even realised this entire conversation was one big question he’d needed to ask.

He knew what he knew, and hadn’t seen a need to have someone explain it to him. His separation anxiety was a big cause of his apprehension and was stunting his potential learning; it was also another reason why him being here with these two Mavka was making him restless.

I can have both...

He had not known that.

He’d known he could share a bond with both, but he hadn’t realised it could be on such a deeply ingrained level: kindred and kindred, Mavka and bride. Aleron and Ingram were one being, so it hadn’t made sense to him to allow Emerie to mesh her essence with his until they were also one.

I can have both,he repeated to himself, turning away as he scratched at the side of his beak almost bashfully.

The sharp blade that had been the piece of Emerie lodged within his chest, like it had been trying to force its way into his bond with Aleron, began to melt like hot iron. It dripped inside, sinking within the limited well of his heart.

The longer he allowed it to seep in, the more it mixed – and grew.

A warm, fuzzy, fluffy feeling tingled his chest, and he slapped his hand over the tip of his beak when it made him want to giggle in reaction. It was almost... ticklish.

Bright pink bled into the edges of his vision, slowly creeping forward like the shift, too, was shy in this realisation. However, the moment it fully encompassed his sight, the emotion it belonged to blossomed like a bud that had just been waiting for him to allow it to fully flower.

It had been there for a while, patiently waiting.

Before he knew it, the love he shared for Aleron was doubled, and half was given to someone else. Not a drop of difference in measurement, but the adoration he felt was... different. The two sides were not at war with each other; there was no competition.

I love Emerie...

Holding the end of his beak, Ingram clawed at his chest when it felt too full, too fluffy and light. His affection for Emerie was so strong he feared the molten ore of it would burn him from the inside, and yet it was so wholesome he hoped it did.

Orpheus and Magnar both flinched when he turned suddenly.

He made it about two steps towards the decline that would lead him back to the Veil, to Emerie, when Orpheus snatched his horn.

“Where are you going?” Orpheus shouted in disbelief, yanking and turning him back around.

Or rather, just his head, as his legs fought to get away.

“I must go back,” Ingram rushed out. “If I had known all this, I would have asked for Emerie’s soul sooner.”

He would have done it the day of the fucking meadow!

The sensation in his chest... the first warm droplet of it started that day. Had he not been so unaware and ignorant, had his mind not been obsessed with Aleron, he would have realised he wanted her to be eternally his.

His little butterfly, in his mind, had been claimed by him that day. He’d just been trying to claim her in every other way possible since then, unwittingly seeking to fill the void of longing.