Elara’s Pov
Kael’s chambers felt different in daylight.
Not softer.
Just heavier.
The fire had burned low, leaving the air touched with smoke and the faint scent of him that clung to everything, the carved bedposts, the thick fur draped across the stone floor, even the dark velvet curtains framing the tall arched windows. The room was vast, almost royal in its structure, yet nothing about it felt ornamental. Every piece of furniture was solid, deliberate, built to endure. A warrior’s sanctuary disguised as a lord’s chamber.
I sat upright slowly, fingers brushing my neck.
The skin was smooth.
Unmarked to the eye.
But beneath it, something pulsed faintly when I inhaled.
Not pain.
Not quite heat.
Just awareness.
Being in this room alone made that awareness sharper.
As if the wall
