Lila
Night falls too quickly.
The forest settles into silence that feels deliberate, as if the land itself is holding its breath again—waiting to see what I’ll do when no one is watching.
Selene insists I rest.
I don’t argue.
My body is exhausted in a way that reaches deeper than muscle or bone, like something inside me has been stretched thin and left exposed. The silver warmth beneath my skin is quieter now, but it hasn’t gone away.
It’s listening.
I lie awake on the narrow bed, pale hair fanned across the pillow, staring at the ceiling beams as moonlight spills through the window in thin silver lines. Every sound feels louder. Every thought heavier.
Then the bond tightens.
Not sharply.
Not painfully.
Intimately.
My breath catches as warmth coils low in my stomach, slow and u
