The cabin was still dark when Vaelith opened his eyes.
He didn't move immediately.
Instead, he lay still, letting his senses map the room before his body followed.
The crackle of dying embers in the hearth, reduced to a faint, rhythmic popping.
The wind brushing softly, almost lovingly, against the rough-hewn walls.
And the sound that anchored him to the earth.
Breathing.
Slow.
Deep.
Uninterrupted.
Elara.
She was asleep beside him.
Vaelith turned his head slightly.
The firelight from the dying embers cast a faint, amber glow across the room, illuminating the curve of her shoulder, the rise and fall of her back under the heavy blankets.
A strand of dark hair had fallen across her face, sticking to her cheek.
She didn't stir.
She didn't frown.
She didn't tense.
She looked p
