The Last Theiro

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Thomas
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Her head rested against my chest as we laid against the soft marsh. My fingers absentmindedly ran through her soft brown hair and she nuzzled into me. Besides us, Noah's chest rose slowly with steady breathes, his eyes closed lightly, evidently asleep. The look of peace on his face sent a wave of guilt washing over me- I wished he would stay like that. Safe and peaceful. Not worried about the war at hand.

"Are we going to die?" Teddy startled me by asking. She craned her neck slightly and her large blue eyes pierced into my own.

"No," I lied and shook my head slowly. I tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace of pain. The truth was, I didn't know what was going to happen to us. Our odds were limited and we had only one chance to leave Iniquitous, but that was ruined when Erebus attacked us.

Now, we laid there on the forest floor, staring up into a dark night sky, the events of tomorrow unknown. We were far from the city. Far from the Blaze. Far from danger.

Teddy turned around so that her body was facing me and she fervently touched my cheeks with her tender fingers. My eyes fluttered closed and I fought back tears, knowing that all this would end. We would never be a family we once were. We would be separated, apart with no way of reaching each other. I opened my eyes and looked at Teddy confidently. I could not show weakness. I had to be brave for Noah and Teddy. I had to be brave for myself.

"Daddy, please don't lie to me," she whispered softly.

My heart ached at the thought of lying to Teddy, but I had no other choice. I caressed her face between my hands. "You are not going to die, Teddy. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you and Noah alive. As long as we are alive, there's always hope."

Teddy crinkled her nose and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Does that mean we might lose you?"

I cleared my throat and averted my eyes, shifting below her weight. A light breeze blew strands of hair into her face and I gently tucked it behind her ear. "What do you wish most for, Teddy?"

She pursed her lips and then smiled slowly at me. "I just want us all to be safe. You, me and Noah. Just us."

"Well, Teddy. Sometimes we are like the stars- we fall to make someone's wish come true."

She sniffled and wipes the tears from her eyes. "But what about you? What about your wishes?"

Sometimes I forgot Teddy was only five years old. I was easily distracted by the questions she asked. She always worried about the people around her, never about herself.

I laughed lightly. "You and Noah are my children. I will do anything to keep you both safe.

"Why?" she asked, her forehead creasing.

My smile faltered and was replaced by a deep frown. Tessa was familiar with an abundance of emotions- envy, despair, sadness, guilt, grief, and anger. But love was never familiar to her. Maybe the Theiro that lived as a corpse inside her forbid her from feeling the intense emotion or maybe she never loved. I will never know.