Chapter 45
Seraphina's eyes fluttered open as the dim light of the evening seeped through the curtains. Her body felt warm, cocooned in the lingering comfort of sleep, but something gnawed at her. Hunger. A quiet growl from her stomach reminded her just how much time had passed.
She stretched slightly, turning over—only to find the bed empty.
She blinked, a strange weight settling in her chest.
He was gone.
A flicker of disappointment passed through her before she could shove it away. Maybe she had expected him to still be here, lying beside her, watching her the way he always did when he thought she wasn't looking. But there was nothing. Just the cool emptiness of the sheets where he should have been.
Sitting up slowly, she ran a hand through her hair, and then—