Chapter 651: Where the Past Waits

Lysander moved the moment Sophia stepped away from the bed.

"Sophia," he called, closing the distance quickly as his hand hovered just short of her arm, as though unsure whether to stop her or simply make sure she didn’t fall. "Where are you going?"

Sophia paused, turning slightly to look at him. There was no confusion in her gaze, no lingering haze from sleep. If anything, she looked far too aware.

"I just need to visit somewhere," she said quietly.

Lysander frowned, his eyes searching her face carefully, checking for anything out of place. "You should not be moving around so soon. You just woke up. I haven’t even checked you properly."

"I’ll be fine, Lysander," she replied gently, but there was a firmness beneath her tone that made it clear she had already made up her mind.

His gaze flickered briefly to Orion, who was still asleep with his head resting against the edge of the bed, his breathing deep and even.

"How about I wake him up?" Lysander asked. "He’s been waiting for you to wake up."

Sophia followed his gaze, and something in her expression softened when she looked at Orion. Her lips parted slightly as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only shook her head. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"No," she said softly. "Let him rest."

Lysander hesitated. He didn’t like this. Every instinct in him told him to insist, to make her sit back down and let him examine her properly before she took another step. But there was something in the way she stood there, calm and steady, that made it difficult to argue.

"I still need to check you," he said after a moment.

"And you will," Sophia replied, her voice just as calm. "But I need to go first. Please."

The word lingered between them.

Lysander exhaled slowly before finally giving a small nod. "Alright," he said, though it was clear he wasn’t entirely convinced.

He reached for the cloak draped over the nearby chair and held it out to her. "Take this. It’s cold outside."

Sophia accepted it, wrapping it around herself before offering him a small smile when she realised it was Orion’s cloak.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"I’ll walk you out," he added.

She didn’t argue.

They stepped out into the hallway together, the quiet of the medical facility stretching around them as they made their way toward the lobby. The lanterns burned low, casting soft shadows along the walls, and everything felt still in that way it only did deep into the night.

When they reached the lobby, Sophia’s steps slowed.

Ronan was sprawled across one of the beds, one arm thrown over his face as though even in sleep he refused to fully relax. Tobias sat slumped against the wall, his head tilted at an awkward angle that looked like it would hurt when he woke. Sam had curled up on another bed, while Annabeth lay on her side, a blanket half-pulled over her as though someone had tried to make her comfortable without waking her.

Lysander followed her gaze. "They didn’t want to sleep," he said quietly. "I had to make them. They were worried about you."

Sophia swallowed, her chest tightening slightly as she looked at them.

She nodded faintly before turning back to him. "Let them rest too," she said softly. "I’ll be back soon."

Lysander studied her for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

There was hesitation in the way he stepped aside, but he did it anyway, watching as she walked toward the exit.

He didn’t stop her again.

—

The cold met her immediately the moment she stepped outside, sharp and biting against her skin, but she barely seemed to notice it.

She pulled the cloak tighter around herself and began walking.

The compound was quiet. The only movement came from the guards stationed at intervals, their torches casting steady light that flickered against the snow-covered ground.

Sophia didn’t slow down.

Her steps were steady as she followed the path she already knew, moving past the familiar structures of the pack until the lanterns began to change, their glow softer, the runes carved into them faintly visible as they hummed with something old and unseen.

When she reached the gate, she paused for a brief moment before pushing it open.

The soft creak echoed faintly in the stillness.

Then she stepped inside.

The cemetery stretched out before her, quiet beneath the falling snow, the lanterns swaying gently as their light brushed against the rows of markers that filled the space.

Sophia walked slowly now, her steps careful as she made her way through the graves until she reached the small rise where the three headstones stood.

She stopped.

Her gaze settled on them, lingering for a moment before shifting to one in particular.

The one with Alaric engraved on it.

"...We meet again," she said softly.

The words left her lips before she could stop them, carried away almost immediately by the quiet of the night.

She stepped closer and lowered herself to her knees in front of the headstone, her movements slow as though weighed down by something she could not quite name.

For a moment, she said nothing.

The snow continued to fall around her, settling lightly against her shoulders and the cloak wrapped around her.

"I’m sorry," she said at last, her voice barely above a whisper. "I forgot you."

Her throat tightened, the words feeling both insufficient and too much all at once.

"I met your son again," she continued quietly. "I didn’t remember... not at first."

Her hands rested in her lap as her gaze remained fixed on the name carved into stone.

"I should have," she added, though her voice faltered slightly.

She tried to say more.

Tried to form the words that pressed against her chest, demanding to be let out.

But they wouldn’t come.

Her throat closed around them, her breath catching as the silence stretched on, heavy and unyielding.

So she stopped trying.

She just sat there instead, staring ahead as the snow fell steadily around her, the world narrowing down to the quiet space she occupied.

She had no idea how much time passed.

Minutes.

Maybe longer.

It didn’t matter.

Everything felt distant, blurred at the edges, like she was sitting in a place that existed somewhere between memory and reality.

Then something stirred.

Neoma.

The presence was soft at first, a faint shift within her before it grew stronger, spreading a quiet calm through her chest that steadied the storm she hadn’t even realized was building.

Sophia didn’t need to turn.

She already knew who it was.

The sound came a moment later, the crunch of snow beneath steady footsteps breaking through the silence.

They were unhurried.

Her breath caught slightly, her fingers curling faintly against her lap.

"Shorty."

The voice was soft, but it carried clearly in the quiet night.

Sophia closed her eyes briefly before opening them again as he stepped closer, stopping beside her before lowering himself into a crouch.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, his voice quieter now, laced with concern as he looked at her.

Sophia turned her head to face him.

Her gaze met his, locking onto hazel-brown eyes with faint flecks of gold in them, eyes she knew far too well, eyes that carried a familiarity that cut deeper than she was prepared for.

Something inside her chest tightened painfully.

She tried to hold it in.

Tried to steady her breathing, to keep whatever was rising within her from spilling over.

But it was useless.

Her vision blurred as tears gathered despite her effort to stop them.

She shook her head faintly, as though denying something even she couldn’t fully understand, but it didn’t help.

The first tear slipped free.

Then another.

And then she couldn’t stop it anymore.

A broken sound left her as her shoulders trembled, the restraint she had been holding onto shattering completely as the tears poured out, her breath hitching as the sobs followed.