The doors clicked shut behind me with a soft finality as I stepped into my chambers. The silence wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket, thick with the weight of the choices I’d made and the emotions I refused to name.
I exhaled slowly, loosening the top button of my shirt as I walked further in. The moonlight filtered in through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the floor. The fire in the hearth had died down to glowing embers, but it was enough to chase the chill from the room.
And then I saw her.
Raven.
Curled up on the edge of the bed like a soft, sleeping flame.
My breath caught.
For a moment, I just stood there, unmoving. Watching. Her black hair cascaded over her face, a silken curtain that rose and fell with every quiet breath she took. She looked so peacefu
