The silence that fell over the chamber was not the silence of emptiness, but of profound peace.
On the other side of the divider, Vaelith sat in the shadows, his senses tuned to the faint, rhythmic sounds of water.
But as the minutes stretched into an hour, the splashing ceased.
The only sound remaining was the soft, steady breathing of a woman who had finally, for the first time in years, felt safe enough to close her eyes.
Vaelith’s heart skipped a beat.
Panic, sharp and sudden, pierced through him.
"Elara?" he called out, his voice low but urgent.
There was no answer.
Fear, cold and irrational, gripped him.
He stood up, his chair scraping softly against the stone floor.
"Elara, I'm coming in."
He stepped around the divider, ready to confront an disaster, an accident, anything
