The first thing Nyra noticed wasn’t the light breaking through the trees.
It was the absence of pain.
Not hers.
His.
Her eyes opened slowly, her body still heavy from the night before, but something in her chest felt… different.
Quieter.
Steadier.
The bond.
It wasn’t straining the way it had been.
It wasn’t pulling at her like something was slipping through her fingers.
It was—
Holding.
Nyra pushed herself up quickly, her gaze snapping toward where Darius rested.
He was already awake.
Watching her.
“You felt it too,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Nyra nodded once, moving toward him without hesitation.
“It slowed again,” she said. “More than before.”
Darius shifted slightly, testing his breath, his body.
“I’m not fighting it the same way,” he admitted. “It’s still there
