Tale of a Hedonistic wizard

As the evening wound down, the guests gradually departed from the backyard, their laughter and chatter fading into the night. All that remained were the dying embers of the bonfire, casting a faint glow, and an unspoken tension that hung in the air.

Inside the kitchen, the atmosphere was thick with unspoken words as Jaegar leaned against the kitchen island, his knuckles white around his whiskey glass.

As the backyard emptied, Megan hesitated in the kitchen doorway, her intuition alerting her to the tension crackling between Jaegar and Diana like static before a storm. The room felt charged with unspoken words and suppressed emotions.

Her eyes darted between Jaegar's rigid posture and Diana's anxious fidgeting. "Should I... perhaps I could stay and help clean up?" She offered tentatively.

Diana managed a weak smile. "No, it's fine. I'll come by later, Megan. Thank you for everything today."

As Megan reluctantly turned to leave, Thomas stepped forward. He was a tall man with greying temples and an air of confidence that came from years of success in the business world.

His expensive suit and perfectly knotted tie seemed to emphasize the contrast between his and Jaegar's travel-worn appearance.

"You must be Jaegar," Thomas said, extending his hand. "You've changed a lot from the photographs Diana's shown me."

Jaegar regarded the outstretched hand with barely concealed disdain, his mind racing.

Why was this man back in Diana's life? What were his intentions? The logical part of his brain tried to dismiss the idea of anything intimate between them - surely Diana wouldn't stoop so low.

He could just snap his neck, but... he let his thoughts stop to not stoop so low more than he already has. Jaegar has a very clear conscious of love, and he had been shown love only to his aunt and no one else until now. He put his guard up around other women, not letting himself get swayed by their charms.

A self mocking escaped his lips, thinking that he could be with any woman while his aunt should wait for him, here, alone, with no one to protect her.

Thomas noticed the smile, but he didn't say anything as he observed the young man before him. For his part, Thomas genuinely liked Diana and was so sad when he saw Diana, the state she was in when he first saw her. He understood just how much she loved her nephew and helped her along with Megan.

The darker corners of Jaegar's mind whispered of all the hardships Diana had endured because of him.

Memories flashed before him: Diana being held by Lorcan. Just thought made Jaegar want to rush to the palace and burn him to cinders. But at the moment, Jaegar couldn't see reason, and the presence of the man in front of him, made it hard for him.

Leaning heavily on the kitchen island, Jaegar finally responded, "Yes, I am."

Thomas, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore the tension, continued smoothly, "She's talked about you a lot."

"Did she?" Jaegar's tone was flat, but his eyes flickered briefly to Diana, who was watching the exchange with growing concern. She knew that look in his eyes - the subtle hardening of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his gaze. She could practically see the theories forming in his mind.

Thomas, perhaps finally sensing the undercurrent of hostility, made his goodbyes shortly after.

As the front door closed behind him, the silence in the kitchen became deafening.

Jaegar remained by the island, absently turning the empty glass in his hands.

Diana took a deep breath, her voice firm. "Aren't you going to ask me?" She knew she didn't have anything to fear, as she didn't betray his trust. She could only blame his young age.

"What?" His response was barely more than a whisper.

Moving closer to him, Diana searched his face - a face that had gained new lines and shadows in the past year. "Do you know what I've been through during the time you were gone?" Her voice cracked slightly. "I saw you taken by those men. My heart shattered, not knowing what happened to you, not knowing if you were even alive."

Tears welled up in her eyes, remembering her boy being tamed like a beast by those men.

Jaegar remained silent, but his grip on the glass tightened as Diana continued, her words tumbling out now, like a dam breaking. "I was lost, Jaegar. I couldn't do anything, thinking that you were in danger. It made me lose myself. I was alone, all by myself."

Her words hung in the air between them, heavy with the weight of shared trauma and separate suffering.

Jaegar closed his eyes, remembering the moment of his capture - the look of horror on Diana's face as the green-robed figures had apparated on the mountain, the sound of her screams as they'd dragged him away.

He'd spent every day of the past year fighting to get back to her, while she'd been here, slowly drowning in uncertainty and fear.

Diana's hand trembled as she reached out, not quite touching him but close enough that he could feel the warmth of her skin. "I thought I'd lost you forever," she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears. "Can you understand that? Can you understand what that did to me?"

Jaegar finally looked at her - really looked at her - and saw the toll the year had taken. The fine lines around her eyes seemed deeper, and there was a weariness in her posture that hadn't been there before. She was still beautiful, still his aunt, his mom, but changed, just as he had been changed by their time apart.

The grandfather clock in the hall struck the hour, its chimes echoing through the silent house.

Outside, the last car sputtered away, leaving them truly alone with their shared pain and separate secrets.

As the echoes faded, both stood facing each other across the kitchen island, each waiting for the other to bridge the gap that a year's absence had created.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om