Dawn came too quickly.
Elara lay in Caleb's arms, watching the pale light creep through the cabin window, and felt her heart shatter with every passing moment. Soon she would have to leave. Soon she would have to go back to Damon, to the hut, to the impossible pretense of a marriage she was destroying with every stolen night.
Caleb stirred beside her, his arm tightening around her waist. "Don't go." His voice was rough with sleep and desperation. "Stay. Just for today."
"I can't." The words were acid on her tongue. "If I'm not there when Damon wakes, he'll know. He'll send someone looking. He'll—"
"I know." He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "I know. I just... I'm not ready to let you go."
She turned in his arms, facing him. In the dim light, his eyes were impossibly blue, full of lov
