Elaria ‘s POV
The past week had felt like a dream. The kind you never want to wake up from. The kind you fear is too good to be real.
For the first time in what felt like years, my chest didn’t feel heavy when I woke. I wasn’t preparing to fight for my place or anticipate someone trying to push me out of it. Alaric and I had found a rhythm, an unspoken understanding that we were trying. Nothing was no longer just out of duty or obligation with him or with me. We were choosing each other.
I kept catching myself smiling at nothing. A patient would come to me with a burn or a rash, and I would be humming as I applied salve to their injuries or as I treat them. Ruth noticed and just gave me a knowing smile. Even Rosa, who once loomed like a shadow over everything I did, had been… quiet.
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