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Elara's POV
The bathroom was warm within seconds, steam curling through the air. Kieran stepped in behind me without hesitation, his hands steady as he guided me under the spray. I didn't realize I was shaking until he pressed his chest to my back, the heat of him anchoring me against the heat that had seeped into my bones.
The hot water stung at first, then sank deep, washing away the cold and the last fragments of the forest. His fingers moved slowly as he worked the soap over my shoulders and down my arms. The tension in my muscles fought him at first, but the more he touched me, the more my body remembered it was allowed to cry.
"You don't have to do this," I said softly.
He didn't answer, he just kept washing me. My throat tightened at the action, and I let
