'What the fuck is this smell'
Bryce's eyes snapped to the bedroll.
Lyra was there. Sleeping peacefully under a blanket, fully wrapped, the cover pulled all the way up to her head. Just her face was visible—calm, resting, unaware. She looked untouched. Serene even.
Bryce narrowed his eyes.
He didn't know she was naked underneath.
He didn't know the sheets were hiding a whole different story.
And he didn't know that somewhere under all of that, buried in the pile of chaos and scent, was his damn sword.
...
Back at the holy church, Maximus and Jonathan stood in tense silence, staring at one another across the long chamber table.
The morning light filtered in through the stained-glass windows, but neither man paid it any mind.
Jonathan held a letter in his hand. The contents had drained the color from his face the moment he read it.
He hadn't spoken for a while, and when he finally did, his voice came low and heavy.
