"The realm, we'd discovered, doesn't love you like your lifetime mate will love you."
The first thing I felt was a body next to mine. It was unexpected. I had spent so many years waking up cold, tangled in sheets that held no real comfort. But now, a body surrounded me, pressing against my back, curling around my waist. My eyes fluttered open, and the world felt different. The night wasn't just darkness; it hummed, alive with shifting shadows and silver light. I could hear the whisper of the wind outside, the distant heartbeat of the earth. And beneath it all, steady and strong, the rhythm of her.
I shifted slightly, and an arm tightened around me. "You're awake." Her voice was thick with sleep, husky and soft, the sound curling through me like the last embers of a fire refusing to die.
