The room was cloaked in shadows, lit only by the silvery spill of moonlight through the tall window. The hour was long past midnight, but sleep had evaded me. My body thrummed with a restlessness I couldn’t name. Something deeper than longing—almost like my soul itself was aching for something it couldn't reach.
The bed dipped behind me.
I didn’t have to turn to know it was him. I could feel his presence like a shift in gravity. Kael moved like the night—quiet, powerful, inevitable. His hand brushed over my waist as he settled beside me, and a shiver danced down my spine.
“Elara,” he murmured, his voice a low thunder against my ear. “Why are you still awake?”
I didn’t answer immediately. I couldn’t. My breath had caught in my throat, my heart stammering like it always did around him. H
