Arkan woke up just before sunrise. He felt the twinge of pain on his back first, where the wings would grow. Then he felt it on his whole body.
He knew he should have gone immediately. But the warmth of the body next to him was too sweet. The very presence of the girl made him feel at ease. Made him feel whole. And he was afraid that he let go of her then, he would be ... incomplete. Cursed. He did not want to revert back to that dark hole in his mind before she came.
But he had to let go, eventually. He shifted Lyria's body gently on the bed, tucked the blanket up to her shoulders. He took his time caressing her hair. Even though the pain grew worse all over his body. When the pain became unbearable, that was when he finally stepped down from the bed gently and went out of Lyria's roo
