SERAPHINA’S POV
Morning came too quickly.
For a while, I lay still, savoring that fragile space between sleep and awareness, where everything felt quiet and contained, and nothing had yet demanded anything from me.
Kieran’s arm was around me, heavy and warm, his breathing slow and steady against my back.
If I didn’t move, I could pretend.
Pretend I didn’t have somewhere to be.
Pretend the weight sitting quietly in my chest wasn’t waiting for me to acknowledge it.
Pretend this morning was like any other.
It wasn’t.
I exhaled slowly and shifted.
Kieran’s arm tightened instinctively, his hold firming before his awareness caught up.
“You’re leaving,” he murmured, his voice still rough with sleep.
“No,” I said softly, turning my head slightly toward him. “I’m getting ready to leave.”
A pause.
Then, quieter, “Same thing.”
He pressed his forehead against my shoulder, a silent moment that said more than anything else could have.
Then he let me go.
