Sunbeam Lair seorsum

His warmth settled over her—merely resting beside her, he crouched to her, her assumption of the comfort he could give her in his own manner. It brought a blush to her cheeks—so very different from the embrace of Reyson and yet it tantalized her just as much. Neither man made a pass to her—neither openly admitting any form of attraction, and do all she could do was believe her growing desire and affection for one or the other was certainly single-minded. Reyson, she had perhaps thought, but recent events only solidified to her mind that she had read the signs wrong.

She clung to others. Believing more to be there than there was—it had been proven time and again, and her eyes riveted to the floor instead, studying the pheasant the Imperator had brought—focusing on the cool stone behind her, rather than the very breath of a man who was just out of reach.

He remembered her. Many days of her past were blurred, at times. “You terrified me,” she admitted quietly, still no longer seeking his eyes, though she felt them burn upon her. Then, a paused moment, realizing how he might have taken such a comment when he had been nothing but courteous to her, even then—“Everyone terrified me then,” she offered, a wane smile pressing to her lips.

No longer was she terrified. Perhaps that had been the purpose of her past two years—Hrafnsvaktin had molded her. “Serendipitous, hm?” A sideways glance then, a suppressed shudder when the thunder made a more pronounced bellow above—the storm moved closer.