The room still carried the accumulated heat of bodies that had sought each other without haste or reservation, the sheets disheveled, forming irregular folds on the wide bed while their breathing finally found a calmer rhythm, no longer urgent, just deep and heavy. Kael lay on his back, one arm resting behind his head, the other hanging by his side, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as if trying to see beyond the stone and wood, beyond the physical world itself.
Inari remained partially supported on his chest, her hair spread across her still-warm skin, drawing soft lines that moved with each breath. The silence that filled the room wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't empty either, for there were too many thoughts there, circulating between them without being immediately spoken, and it was Kael who broke the quiet first, his voice lower than usual, less firm than he usually allowed it to be.
"I'm worried about Umbra."
