Aurora froze.
Her hands, still gripping Judite’s arms, stopped moving completely. Her violet eyes widened, and her mouth opened into a small "o" of shock.
Clavor, anwhile, dropped the sword.
The tal hit the floor with a crash that made everyone in the room flinch, but no one moved to pick it up. He was paralyzed, eyes fixed on his son, his face shifting between disbelief and shock.
Pure shock.
"Lukas..." Aurora murmured, her voice failing, the words coming out in a hoarse whisper.
She rose from the floor, leaving Judite there, and approached the crib with trembling steps.
"You... you said your sister’s na?"
Lukas tilted his head slightly, as if considering the question. His gaze moved across Aurora’s face, then Judite’s, then Clavor’s.
’She asked if I know who she is. I think that’s what she wants to know.’
"Sister," he added, pointing his little hand toward Judite.
Aurora let out a sound that was half scream, half laugh of pure emotion, a shrill, trembling noise that echoed through the room and probably woke the birds in the garden.
She thrust her hands into the crib, picked Lukas up in one quick yet careful motion, and hugged him tightly against her chest.
"HE TALKED!" she shouted, spinning around the room like a teenager, white hair flying, violet eyes shining with tears.
"Clavor, he talked! He knows her na! He knows she’s his sister!"
She stopped spinning, breathless, and pulled Lukas away from her chest just enough to look into his eyes. Her hands trembled.
"Lukas, my baby, you spoke! You called your sister!"
Lukas watched her with a calmness that contrasted sharply with her maternal hysteria. The corner of his lips curled upward in a smile.
’Their reaction is even better than I imagined.’
Clavor was still staring with his mouth open, sothing incredibly rare for the serious and experienced man.
He had faced monsters and wars.
He had seen n die beside him.
But nothing in his life had prepared him to see his three-month-old son sit up, point, and clearly say his sister’s na.
Aurora, still euphoric, could not stop smiling.
She sat on the bed with Lukas in her lap, fingers repeatedly stroking his white hair, as if she needed the softness beneath her fingertips to convince herself he was real.
"Lukas," she said, her voice still trembling with emotion.
"Lukas, look at ."
Lukas obeyed, his violet eyes eting hers.
Aurora pointed at herself, her eyes shining with expectation.
"And ?" she asked.
"Do you know who I am?"
Lukas watched her for a mont.
Her pale, beautiful face, with delicate features that reminded him of the fairy tale heroines he used to read about as a child.
The violet eyes were identical to his own.
The white hair falling over her shoulders.
"Aurora," he said, the word coming out clear and firm.
Aurora held her breath.
"Mommy," Lukas added, pointing at her with his little hand.
The scream Aurora released was even louder than the previous one.
She hugged Lukas so tightly he feared for his tiny bones, but to his surprise, he felt no discomfort. Sohow, his body could withstand the pressure.
"HE KNOWS!" Aurora shouted, now openly crying, tears streaming down her face while she laughed.
"CLAVOR, HE KNOWS WHO I AM! HE KNOWS I’M HIS MOTHER!"
Clavor approached slowly, shock giving way to an enormous, proud smile that lit up his severe face in a way Lukas had never seen before.
He sat on the bed beside his wife and held out his hands.
"Let see," he said, his voice softer than usual.
Aurora reluctantly passed Lukas into her husband’s arms, as though she did not want to part with her son for even a second.
Clavor held Lukas carefully, always carefully now that he knew about the baby’s absurd strength, and looked him in the eyes.
"And ?" he asked, pointing to himself with his large, calloused finger.
"Do you know who I am?"
Lukas looked at the man.
The scar on his cheek.
The short, well-kept beard.
The deep brown eyes that could be both gentle and dangerous.
"Daddy," he said.
"Clavor."
Clavor let out a deep, hearty laugh, the kind that shook his entire chest.
He pressed Lukas gently against his broad chest, with the delicacy of soone holding a rare bird, and shook his head in disbelief.
"Boy," he murmured, his voice heavy with pride.
"You really never stop surprising us."
"Daddy," Lukas repeated, wrapping his tiny arms around Clavor’s neck, his little hands nearly eting behind his father’s head.
Aurora, watching the scene with teary eyes, could not resist.
"Lukas, say it again," she pleaded, her voice almost begging.
"Say it again, my baby. Say ’mommy’ again."
Lukas turned his head from Clavor’s lap and looked at Aurora.
"Mommy," he said, and the smile accompanying the word completely lted the woman’s heart.
"Judite," he continued, pointing at his sister, who was still on the floor staring at everything with her mouth hanging open.
"Sister."
"Aurora." He pointed at his mother.
"Mommy."
"Clavor." He pointed at his father.
"Daddy."
Each word was like a stab of emotion straight into the parents’ hearts.
The boy was not rely repeating sounds.
He was associating them.
He knew who was who.
He connected nas to faces, titles to people.
Clavor and Aurora exchanged glances.
"He already seems to connect those words to us," Clavor said quietly, thoughtfully.
"He’s not just repeating sounds. He understands at least part of the aning. Because he pointed at each of us when he said the nas."
Aurora nodded, tears still shining in her eyes.
"He’s a genius, Clavor. Our son is a genius."
Judite, who had finally recovered from the initial shock, jumped up from the floor and ran toward the crib, or rather, toward where Clavor sat on the bed, standing on tiptoe and stretching out her arms.
"He said my na!" she shouted radiantly.
"He said my na first! I’m the favorite! Lukas likes more!"
Aurora laughed through her tears, kissing the top of Lukas’s white head repeatedly.
Each kiss was a silent thank-you, a prayer of gratitude to whoever might be listening.
"You’re so smart, my love..." she whispered.
"So smart. Mommy is so proud..."
Clavor watched the scene with silent but profound pride.
His dark brown eyes remained fixed on Lukas, and there was sothing in them Lukas could not fully decipher.
Lukas, at the center of all the commotion, rely watched the happy faces of his family.
Aurora laughed and cried at the sa ti, hugging him, kissing him, and breathing in the scent of his hair as if he might disappear.
Clavor was smiling more than Lukas had ever seen before, his eyes shining with a new light.
Judite bounced around them, shouting that she was the favorite sister.
’Finally.’
’Now they’ll treat a little more like a person. Maybe they’ll try teaching more words. Maybe they’ll let crawl around the house, explore, and learn.’
A wave of relief washed over him.
The long months of forced silence, of helplessness, of being treated like an unconscious doll... were finally coming to an end.
His eyes glead with renewed determination.
The day had barely begun.
The sun still hung low on the horizon, painting the sky orange and pink.
Birds sang outside, and the sll of fresh bread drifted in from the kitchen.
But for House Dmond, this was already an unforgettable day.
The day Lukas Dmond, the three-month-old baby with the strength of a giant and the mind of an adult, spoke his first words.
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