Ash's POV
I woke up the next morning to sunlight slanting across the empty side of the bed, the sheets still smooth and untouched where Rowan should have been, the room quiet except for the faint hum of the academy waking up outside the window, and for a long moment I just lay there staring at the blank space beside me, my heart doing something strange, a tug that felt like disappointment mixed with relief, like I was glad he wasn't there to see me like this, raw and still aching from last night, but also strangely empty without his presence filling the room.
The moment from the night before played in my head over and over, the way his lips had felt against mine, soft at first then hungry, the way his hands had cupped my face like I was something precious, the way his voice had dropped
