The fire had nearly gone out. Just embers now, glowing faintly in the hearth like distant stars. Natalie stirred, curling closer to Norwan’s chest, her breath warm against his collarbone. Outside, the wind had quieted. The whole estate, the world even, seemed to be holding its breath.

Norwan looked down at her, heart full.

He thought about everything—the pain they’d walked through, the sharp words, the silences, the impossible distance that had once stretched between them. And he thought about how they had come back. Not the same, but stronger. Truer. Real.

His fingers gently brushed a curl away from her cheek. She sighed in her sleep, and something in...