The wind had gone still by the time dusk wrapped its fingers around the cabin.** The sky above bled into hues of amber and bruised violet—an aching kind of beauty that came only when the world quieted. Inside, the air was heavy, not with heat, but with something unspoken, something that settled between them like a weight neither could name.
Kael sat at the edge of the bed, elbows resting on his knees, fingers laced and clenched tightly. He hadn't spoken much since returning from his morning walk with Lyria. His mind churned behind unreadable eyes, thoughts twisting in ways he couldn't articulate. His body, somehow healed from the burn, pulsed with something... unfamiliar.
Stronger.
Sharper.
But not entirely his.
