Author's POV
The evening settled over Silvermoon like a velvet shroud, quiet and still. In Valerie's chambers, a single candle flickered on the table, casting golden light across the maps spread between them.
Knox traced the route to the Hollow with his finger, his brow furrowed in concentration. The lines of the terrain blurred together, the names of the mountain passes blurring into meaninglessness. He couldn't focus. Not with her so close.
Valerie sat across from him, her silver hair falling over her shoulder as she worked it into a braid. The rhythmic motion of her fingers was hypnotic, and the bond hummed between them, a constant, aching presence that they had both been suppressing for days.
He reached out instinctively. His hand moved toward hers before he could stop it, drawn by
