Seraphine rose from the bed, the warmth of Rin's words still resting in her chest like a flickering flame.
She crossed to the mirror, smoothing her dark training attire over her frame with fingers steadier than she expected. There was no armor today - only soft leather and sleeveless ease. Not for battle, but for something more.
She found Valen in the eastern courtyard.
He stood alone, shirtless beneath the overcast sky, his body a sculpture of muscle and scars. His back was to her, swords laid out beside the training ring, long fingers wrapped around the hilt of one as he stared at the gray clouds as they owed him something.
She didn't announce her presence. She didn't need to.
He turned the second she stepped onto the stone path, as if his senses were attuned only to her.
His
