Ezra ended up cutting his tea party with Alyce short, much to Lior's dismay.
It hadn't even been that long, not enough for Lior, who had just started enjoying himself, just started getting comfortable in Alyce's garden with the cookies and the attention.
It wasn't as disappointing to Lior, though, considering the reason why they were leaving too early was because of Kaelis.
That alone seemed to make it easier for him to accept.
"Where are we going?" Ezra turns to Lior, who had happily asked a question, his small face bright with curiosity, completely unaffected by the shift in mood that Ezra himself couldn't ignore.
Ezra felt…off.
There was no other way to describe it.
He felt sad.
He felt empty.
He felt betrayed.
And it all sat in his chest at once, heavy and unmoving, like no matter how he tried to sort through it, it wouldn't settle into something he could understand.
But that wasn't Lior's fault.
So Ezra tried.
