Border at first light

"So he is."

"He's kind," she said. "But I don't..." She caught herself.

Lucien didn't press.

He only nodded once, slowly, before turning back to his blade.

But as she walked away, Liora swore she felt his eyes on her back… And something in her chest trembled.

The moonlight slipped in through the open windows of the corridor, casting pale shadows along the stone walls. Liora's footsteps echoed softly as she made her way back to her quarters, fingers wrapped around the jar of dried bark she'd forgotten in the infirmary.

But she paused when she reached the balcony overlooking the lower courtyard.

Lucien stood there alone, one hand on the railing, the other curled into a fist at his side. He didn't notice her at first, lost in thought. It wasn't often she saw him like this, unguarded, still, almost... uncertain.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked quietly.

Lucien didn't flinch. "No. I find the silence too loud sometimes."