The moonlight bathed them in silver.
Seraphine lay tangled in Valen’s arms beneath the soft sheets, her head resting on his bare chest, rising and falling with the rhythm of his breath. The bond hummed between them now—gentle, steady. Whole.
“I missed this,” she whispered, her fingers tracing lazy circles over his skin. “I missed you.”
Valen kissed the crown of her head. “I’ve missed you every moment you didn’t exist beside me.”
They lay in silence for a while, hearts speaking in the spaces between breaths.
Then Seraphine whispered, “You know… I didn’t remember anything. Not at first. I was just… a lonely girl in a world that never felt like mine. I had no parents. No family. Just my best friend, Elara. She was my anchor.”
“Elara,” Valen echoed softly, memorizing the name.
“She alwa
