The next morning came slower than usual.
Not because time had slowed… but because I had.
My body still ached from the night before... not from battle, not from any wound but from emotions that had worn me down like waves against a jagged rock.
Aiden hadn’t let go of me all night.
And for once, I hadn’t tried to run from it.
We slept wrapped in each other like vines in a storm, tangled and searching for warmth, for safety, for truth.
His breathing, steady and soft, anchored me like it always did. I’d never told him that. That I used his breathing to quiet the chaos in my head. I don’t think I ever needed to.
He just knew.
I sat up slowly, the blanket sliding off my shoulders. The room was bathed in pale golden light, and for a split second, I let myself believe things might be norm
