The days after Elara's counsel were different. Not dramatically; there were no grand declarations, no sweeping gestures, and no moments of cinematic revelation. The change was subtle, almost imperceptible, like the first hints of spring after a long winter.
But it was there.
Kaelen did not press for answers.
He did not ask about the tears I had shed on the night of his confession. He did not demand to know the secrets I carried, the truths I could not speak. He did not push, pry, or make me feel guilty for the walls I had not yet learned to tear down.
He simply loved me.
That was all. That was everything.
In the mornings, he woke beside me, his arm draped over my waist, his breath warm on my neck. He did not speak of the nightmares that still came, sometimes, or the visions that haunted his sleep. He simply held me, and I held him, and we faced the dawn together.
