Dndm — I Love You Much

The figure reached out, a pale hand trembling slightly as she pulled back her hood. Elara’s eyes were tired, framed by the shadows of a woman who had been running for far too long. She looked at the note, then at him. "You found the messenger," she whispered.

"I found the messenger, the mountain pass, and about six different ways to get myself killed," Kaelen replied, his voice raspy but warm. "But you said 'Dndm.' You don't say that unless the world is ending." Dndm I Love You Much

It was a code, a shorthand they’d used since they were children stealing apples from the orchard. Dndm. "Don’t never doubt me." It was grammatically a mess, a relic of their youth, but it was their anchor. The figure reached out, a pale hand trembling

He didn't say a word as he sat across from her. He simply laid the note on the scarred wooden table. "You found the messenger," she whispered

She squeezed his hand back, the flicker of hope returning to her eyes. "I never did. I just needed to hear you say it one more time."