The night passed in quiet stillness.
In their small room at the villa, Nero and Khione lay together on the big bed. They had not spoken since returning from the banquet. There were no words for what had happened, for the battles fought, for the exhaustion that pressed down on them like a mountain. There was only the simple, profound comfort of being alive and being together.
Khione slept curled against his side, her head on his chest, her white hair spread across his arm like moonlight. Her breathing was slow and deep, the tension finally gone from her face. In sleep, she looked younger, softer, the ice queen melted into something vulnerable and human.
