Elena
*****Early Morning — The Inner Keep, Silverfang*****
Morning came quietly.
Not the kind that announced itself with alarms or tension or the expectation of bloodshed. Just light through the tall windows, pale and steady, touching stone that had already survived worse than dawn ever could.
I was awake before the bells.
That wasn’t unusual anymore.
Sleep came easier these days, but my body still remembered years of waking up ready to defend something.
Old habits didn’t disappear just because the world softened.
Chase stirred beside me when I shifted.
“You’re doing that thing,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep.
“What thing?”
“Thinking too loud.”
I snorted softly. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“It is when you’re you.”
I turned my head slightly. He was watching me, eyes
