I carefully untangle myself from Torric. He doesn’t wake—just shifts, reaches for where I was, then settles back into sleep like nothing happened.
My shadows scatter.
I grab my clothes off the floor and start getting dressed.
Aspen doesn’t look away.
His gaze isn’t leering—it never is—but it’s not neutral either. There’s heat there.
He wants me.
I know he does.
I’m okay with that.
But he just watches quietly, like he always does. Besides, he’d never do anything without asking me first.
“I knew you two would work it out eventually,” he says softly.
I pull my shirt over my head. Meet his eyes.
“Aspen. I need to talk to Kieran.”
The grin disappears.
“You want to move out.”
Not a question.
I nod.
“We have to find Seren.” I take a breath. “We’re rested. Kieran’s rested. There’s no point waiting.”
Aspen studies me. Then nods slowly.
“I’m glad you gave yourself time to heal first.”
My chest tightens.
Because he’s right.
I smile. Grateful.
“Thank you.”
He pushes off the doorframe. “Come on. He’s out back.”
We walk in silence.
The air is cool. Soft. Dew clings to everything, catching the early light.
It’s almost easy to forget we’re standing in the middle of corrupted Absentia. That just beyond the wards, the realm is still twisted. Broken. Here, inside Kieran’s sanctuary, everything feels normal.
Like a mirage in a wasteland.
Aspen slows as we approach the garden.
Kieran is there. Adjusting a ward or… something, that I definitely don’t understand. He’s moving carefully, deliberately.
