Alaric slowly drifted back to consciousness, his body still heavy with the weight of deep sleep. The bed was far more comfortable than the one he usually slept in at his mansion—softer, warmer, and filled with the comforting scent of home. For a brief moment, he forgot about everything that had transpired over the past few days, as though the weight of the world had been left behind when he entered his grandmother's mansion.
He was just on the cusp of slipping back into slumber when he felt something—or someone—pouncing on the bed beside him.
"Big bro! Wake up!" Lucy's energetic voice pierced through his fog of sleep, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of her small feet running around the room. "Come on, Alaric! You promised we'd spend time together today!"
Alaric groaned, pulling the blanket over his head. "Five more minutes, Lucy…"
