Silas doesn’t move to wipe them away.He just sits, present, calm, and anchored, until the trembling eases and the storm inside my chest fades to something quieter.
When I finally breathe normally again, I whisper, “Thank you.”
He shakes his head.“You don’t have to thank me for showing up.”
But I do.Because no one else ever has.
Exhaustion pulls at my limbs again, and he moves the chair closer without a word.Close enough that if I stretched my fingers just a little...
I do.I stretch them.Not touching him.Not yet.But almost.
He sees it.His breath hitches, just a bit, but he doesn’t move closer.“I’m right here,” he murmurs.
My eyes close once more.The bond flickers with warmth this time, not pain.Just warmth ...and the faintest glow of connection.And for the first time, I don’t pull back from it.I let it settle over me as I drift into sleep, knowing Silas is there.
Knowing he won’t leave.
Knowing I’m not alone.
Not this time.
Not anymore.
Chapter Seven
Silas
Aria sleeps again.
It feels like all she does is sleep and eat like a little bird.But I know that will change once her body has recovered enough from what those bastards did to her.
She’s not peaceful, she’s still not capable of that, but her breathing is steadier now, her muscles are looser beneath the blanket.Every time she exhales without waking in a panic, it feels like a small victory.
A fragile one.One I guard with everything in me.
I’m sitting on the floor again, back against the side of the bed.I’ve been here for hours, my leg’s half numb, my spine feels like a rusted hinge, and I don’t care.Being closer calms her and me.And if she reaches out in her sleep again, I want to be near enough to see it.
