LOVED AND TREASURED

"In the hush of dawn, with his arms around me and the world quiet for once, I realized love wasn't always thunder, it could be the silence after, the warmth that stayed, the breath that whispered: stay, and I will too."

Caelan's pov

The stars hung low over Drevina's coast, scattered like embers across a velvet sky. The tide was calm, the waves gentle as they lapped against the pale sands, humming secrets too old for words.

I walked beside Morkai, silent, and he did not rush me. His presence was steady beside me, commanding, quiet, anchoring. The kind of silence that asked nothing of me but made space for everything I could not say. The beach was cool beneath my feet, the sand damp with moon-washed salt. Far behind us, the laughter at the house had died into murmurs. The lanterns Ysara hung still glowed dimly, like distant stars left behind.

"I never thought you'd come here," I said softly, eyes on the dark horizon.