The fire crackled gently beside them, casting long, flickering shadows across the high stone walls of Valen’s throne room.
Outside, the night held its breath—stars paling in comparison to the storm of emotions swirling inside the palace. It was the kind of silence that didn’t come from peace, but from the hush before something ancient and inevitable stirred.
Seraphine sat on the throne once more, the cool obsidian of it a stark contrast to the warmth pooling beneath her skin.
Valen’s head rested in her lap, eyes closed, lashes fluttering faintly as her fingers traced slowly through his raven-black hair.
Each stroke was hesitant at first, but something in her chest settled the longer she touched him—as if her soul recognized this intimacy even when her mind did not.
"I want to remem
