She tried to catch the meaning of it, but it slipped through her fingers like smoke. Sweat soaked her brow. Her eyes opened to shadow and softness, and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was.
Thenhisarms tightened around her, and she remembered everything.
Kailorien.
She was wrapped in him, his chest a wall behind her, warm and solid. One muscular arm curled beneath her head, the other slung across her waist, hand resting just above the curve of her hip. He was heavy, but she’d never really minded.
“Another nightmare?” he murmured, voice low and thick with sleep.
Auryn nodded, pressing her back closer to his chest.
“They’ve been coming often the last few Cycles,” he observed, circling his fingers around her navel. Comforting. Grounding.
She shivered in the chill of the air. The Cycle of Dark was in full swing, and lately not even the Polis-hearths and Regulators in the Lattices could keep up with dropping temperatures.
“What was it this time?” he asked. “Another amorphous shape in the dark?”
“I don’t remember,” she whispered. “But it felt… empty. Like everything had gone quiet.Tooquiet. Like a beast in hiding, waiting to pounce.”
He shifted against her, his naked skin smooth over rippling muscle. Brushing aside her silver hair, he kissed the back of her neck. Once. Twice. A lazy constellation of touch.
“You’re safe now,” he said. “Here. With me.”
Her breath evened out. She closed her eyes again, letting the moment stretch.
“Did you dream, too?” she asked, knowing he often did when she had these nightmares.
“Always,” he said. “Mostly about you.”
She frowned and rolled to face him, tucking her head beneath his chin. “I’m serious, Kail.”
“So am I.” His fingers traced slow, lazy circles down her spine. Little by little, her muscles relaxed.
They’d made a quiet ritual of mornings like this for the last few years—stolen dawns in Kailorien’s chambers, each one sweeter than the last. Auryn floated in this pleasant haze for as long as duty would allow. Wrapped around each other. Connected both physically and through the Bond between them.
The thread of it hummed between touches, between breaths. Auryn allowed herself to bask in the quiet. The bed was draped in silken curtains, giving the illusion that the world outside it could wait until she was ready to face its trials.
But itcouldn’twait.
It never could.
With a reluctant sigh, she stirred. “I should go,” she lamented.
“No,” he grumbled into her hair. “You should stay.”
She laughed. “You’re supposed to be reviewing the new Batches of Reskala recruits today. Weren’t you meant to begin training drills last week?”
“I postponed them,” he said, stretching. “I’m allowed to drag my heels now and then.”
Auryn tried to slip from his hold. She made it to the edge of the bed when he playfully tugged her backwards into his embrace. One of his arms wrapped around her waist and the other guided her to turn her head towards him.
“Kail—”
His lips settled over hers. One long, hard, breath-stealing kiss. When he pulled back, the fire in his blue eyes made her weak. His thumb stroked her cheek.
“Don’t look at me like that, starlight, or I’ll keep you from your duties until midday.”
“The Resh’Agar is surprisingly undisciplined.”
