Chapter 35: The Echo Beneath the Flame
The first light of dawn slipped through the heavy curtains, casting soft gold across tangled sheets and bare limbs. The castle was quiet, almost reverent—as if even the walls were holding their breath.
Aria stirred first.
Her body ached in places she didn’t know could ache. But it wasn’t pain.
It was satisfaction.
Her skin still tingled from where Lucien had touched her his hands, his mouth, his… everything.
She stretched slowly beneath the sheets, blinking up at the high ceiling before turning her head.
Lucien lay beside her, one arm tucked behind his head, the other still resting on her waist. His silver-white hair was tousled, his lips parted in sleep, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm.
Aria smiled.
Gods, he looked soft
