Aiden's POV
The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Aiden lay curled on his side beneath the thin blanket.
His knees were drawn toward his chest, arms wrapped around himself.
He hadn't slept properly.
Not really.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw them.
Three little faces.
Three little pairs of eyes.
Three little voices.
His chest tightened.
So he did the one thing he used to do when they were scared.
He hummed.
Gently.
Almost too quietly to hear.
It was a simple melody.
Nothing complicated.
Something he had done up years ago.
Kael had always fallen asleep first.
Ryn usually fought sleep.
Lior would pretend he wasn't tired until his eyes were already closing.
Aiden smiled faintly at the memory.
"Mm..."
His fingers curled into the blanket.
He continued humming.
Outside the room...
Someone stopped walking.
Theron.
He had been passing through the corridor when the sound reached him.
A quiet melody.
He didn't recognize the song.
But something about it made him stop.
Theron turned toward the door.
The sound continued.
Soft.
Warm.
Almost unbearably gentle.
He had heard songs before.
Priests sang.
Servants hummed while working.
The wolves sometimes sang beneath the moon.
But this...
This sounded different.
It sounded like someone singing to someone they loved.
Theron stepped closer.
The door was closed.
He didn't open it.
He simply listened.
Inside, Aiden continued humming.
His eyes were closed.
He imagined Kael's ears twitching.
Ryn curling closer.
Lior falling asleep against his chest.
His throat tightened.
"I miss you..."
he whispered.
The humming stopped.
Aiden swallowed.
"All of you."
He turned his face into the pillow.
Outside...
Theron remained still.
All of you.
The words lingered in his mind.
Who was he singing to?
His children?
His siblings?
His family?
Theron didn't know.
But suddenly...
he wanted to.
The melody began again.
Theron listened.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
He memorized it.
The exact rhythm.
The pauses.
The tiny change in Aiden's voice whenever the melody reached its final notes.
He didn't understand why.
He simply knew...
He wanted to hear it again.
Inside the room, Aiden's humming slowly faded.
His breathing became steadier.
Eventually...
He fell asleep.
Theron remained outside the door for several moments.
Then he quietly walked away.
But the melody followed him.
All the way through the Moon Temple.