LEANDER'S POV
I stepped out of the closet with my boots in my hand, and the silence of the morning surrounding me. My clothes were already on, each piece pulled into place almost on instinct. The weight of them felt reassuring, like armor after everything that happened last night.
I crossed the room slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed, letting out a long breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My eyes fell to the other side of the mattress, the side where Kaia had laid yesterday.
The sheets were still messy, tangled where she had slept. She was gone before I woke, no surprise there. But her scent lingered faintly on the pillow and in the air. I closed my eyes and breathed it in. That small trace of her steadied me in a way nothing else could.
Memories of last night stirred in m
