Aeron's POV~
She finally slept.
For the first time since I had known her, Selene's body was soft in my arms without any complicated expression. Just pureness of our bond. Just… trusting me.
I lay there holding her, feeling her small frame rise and fall against my chest, and something inside me settled in a way I didn't know was possible. The sky outside the window was starting to pale; morning was approaching. But all I could look at was her.
Her face… gods, her face.
The fear she always carried like a second skin was gone. No tightness around her eyes, no strain in her jaw. Just peace. A soft, gentle peace that made my chest ache. She looked like the girl she should have been all along...untouched by cruelty, unburdened by the world, free of every shadow that haunted her.
I brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. My fingers shook.
I wished time would stop. Right here. Right now.
