The morning light filtered softly through the heavy drapes of the royal chamber, casting slanted rays across the plush bed where River stirred slowly beneath the silk covers, her limbs heavy with sleep and a faint ache nestled in her back like a whisper of yesterday.
Her eyes fluttered open with reluctance, the golden hue of dawn making the ornate ceiling shimmer faintly. For a long moment, she simply lay still, absorbing the silence that surrounded her, unwilling to let go of the fragile cocoon of morning peace.
Her hand reached out instinctively, brushing across the linen sheets beside her.
Cold.
He was gone.
Heiko had left early again, no doubt for his training, as he always did. She knew this pattern by now, the cool emptiness he left behind in his wake, a reminder of the ever
