Julian’s POV
The morning carried a stillness that I wasn’t used to. It wasn’t the silence of danger, or the emptiness of solitude I had lived with for years—it was softer, almost fragile. The kind that made every sound sharper. The tick of the clock against the wall, the faint whistle of wind outside, the steady rhythm of Reina’s breathing beside me.
I turned onto my side, my eyes falling on her. She was still asleep, curled into the sheets, her face half-hidden by her hair. For the first time since I had known her, she looked at peace. No trembling, no gasping for air, no restless tossing in her heat. Just a girl, quiet and still, caught in a moment of fragile calm.
Something in my chest shifted. I wasn’t sure if it was guilt, or longing, or something I didn’t want to name. But I didn’
