EVELARA
The morning bled in softly, a dull gray that carried the taste of rain. I woke before dawn, my veins still throbbing faintly— the remnants of his impact that refused to fade.
It wasn’t the light that roused me though. It was the weight in my chest — that heavy, unsaid ache Lucien had left behind. His voice still lived somewhere within me, the echo of command and something darker tangled in the same breath.
I pressed my palms to my eyes. “Forget him,” I told myself. But my heart didn’t listen, instead it recalled him more...
“Auntie?” The soft, childish tone rang near the door, breaking the quiet and making me look up with a smile.
Eryx padded into my room, his hair sticking up like a tiny halo, the sight loosened my chest.
“Good morning.” he mumbled, rubbing his
