RINEI
I wake to the warmth of soft sunlight.
Cool sheets wrap around my legs. And a lean, strong pair of arms are wrapped around my waist, clothed with linen.
Kazier.
I let out a quiet breath. He's asleep, lashed eyes closed and chest falling evenly. And my eyes lift, to the familiar, wooden ceiling.
This is...the small cottage.
The place he'd brought me a long time ago, after I'd heard Aemin arguing with mothe—
I stop thinking.
But it's too late for that, already. Waves of pain squeeze my chest, as my thoughts return to my parents. My trembling hands squeeze by my sides.
I'd tried not to think about them. Because remembering made everything worse. I'd tried to imagine that they were still—
"Rinei?"
My head jerks up.
Dark eyes stare into mine. And his gaze roams across my pale
