Chapter 40: Chains Beneath the Halo - 6
The rain softened by midnight.
The fire burned low, its embers fading to a deep orange glow that lit the ruin like a dying heartbeat.
Most of the others had gone still.
Zeraka slept on her side now, not wrapped around Rein this time, but with her tail curled protectively behind his back.
Valaithe murmured in her sleep, something about silk and sugar.
Elaris stood against the wall again, sword sheathed, posture loose for once. Even Iris had stopped watching—eyes closed, mouth parted slightly, her breathing almost human.
But Caelia...
Caelia couldn’t move.
She sat near the stone pew, just far enough to avoid the firelight, just close enough to see him.
Rein.
Seated with his back against a slab of broken altar, one knee raised, arms resting loosely.