RETH
They hadn't slept. Not really. Hours spent curled together and clinging. Whispered conversations punctuated by tears, and sometimes laughter. Memories of twenty years relived in moments and hours.
Reth had never felt so exhausted in his entire life—and so energized. So unwilling to lose time to sleep. They did doze at some point in the afternoon. But when the apologetic Protector came to wake them while it was still light, but the sun was beginning to droop behind the mountain, they were already half-awake. Neither of them speaking with words, but their bodies speaking for them—unwilling to be parted.
Letting her out of his arms, even just to dress, felt like tearing off his skin.
When they'd dressed and rolled up the furs, they turned to each other. Elia put her arms around his waist and raised her head, craning her neck back to meet his eyes. She was pale and tired, her hair dull and eyes shadowed.
