[VOLUME 12: THE ORIGIN][ERA: THE PRIMEVAL AGE][LOCATION: ELARA'S APOTHECARY - PRIVATE QUARTERS]
Elara woke to a sensation she had never experienced in her twenty-two years of life.
She felt... invincible.
Usually, mornings in the apothecary meant fighting off a stiff back, the lingering chill of the mountain air, and the exhausted ache of grinding herbs until midnight. But today, her blood hummed with a warm, thrumming vitality. Her lungs drew in air that tasted crisp and sweet, and her mind was startlingly clear.
She shifted with a soft sigh, intending to stretch, but immediately encountered an immovable wall of solid, scorching heat at her back.
A heavy, heavily muscled arm was locked securely around her waist, pinning her flush against a broad chest. She could feel the steady, deep rumble of a heartbeat against her spine.
Startled, Elara gasped and tried to pull forward, only to find her face inches away from a expanse of flawless, pale skin framed by rivers of silver hair.
