The first thing I felt was warmth.
Not from the sun, but from him.
Talon’s arm was still wrapped around me, his chest rising slow and steady beneath my cheek. The forest was quiet except for the low hum of crickets and the rustle of leaves moving with the morning breeze. The air smelled like pine and lake water, sharp and clean. My head rested on his shoulder, and for the first time in what felt like forever, my body didn’t ache.
A thin towel and the corner of a blanket half-covered us, though the morning chill kissed my bare skin. I didn’t move right away. I just listened to the soft thump of his heartbeat and the way it somehow matched mine.
The sunrise painted everything gold, filtering through the branches above us. Dust motes drifted lazily through the light, tiny pieces of calm I
