Lira was the first to notice Nyx sitting alone near the edge of the camp, her shoulders shaking as she tried and failed to keep her composure, and she immediately pulled Selene along without saying a word.
"Nyx," Lira said gently as she knelt in front of her, placing both hands on Nyx's knees, "you are going to look at me now and take a breath, because whatever just happened in that tent does not get to swallow you whole."
Selene lowered herself beside Nyx and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, her voice soft but steady. "You went to him because you care, not because you were weak, and there is nothing shameful about that."
Nyx tried to speak but her voice broke, so she shook her head instead as tears slid down her cheeks. "He wouldn't say anything," she finally managed, her words tumbling out unevenly. "It was like I wasn't even his daughter anymore, like I was just another person he couldn't afford to trust."
