The soft creak of the mattress settled under the weight of two bodies as Luke and Ilyrana lay side by side, wrapped in the quiet of the night. Their breaths began to sync in the familiar rhythm they had grown accustomed to, the closeness no longer awkward or strange. Sharing a bed was just another part of their routine now—comforting and ordinary, like the steady hum of a night breeze through the cracks of an old house.
Luke shifted slightly, pulling the blanket higher over his shoulder. His eyelids were heavy, and sleep tugged at him like a gentle tide, pulling him into peaceful rest. But just as he was about to drift off, Ilyrana's voice broke the silence.
"Thank you, Luke," she whispered, words carrying the weight of sincerity.
Luke's eyes opened halfway, and he blinked in the dim glow filtering through the cracks of the wooden shutters.
"For what?" he mumbled, still caught between wakefulness and sleep.
"For keeping your promise," she replied.
