The light had grown brighter within the room of the Yecine estate. The blonde swordswoman stirred quite slowly while waking from a deeper sleep than she was used to. She instinctively reached for the tiny warmth that had been pressed against her side through the night.
But emptiness met her hand as well as her spiritual sense. She opened her heavy pigeon-blue eyes. Her body was reluctant to move and lose the lingering impression of Elua's weight. She could still imagine the soft breathing against her ribs, where a small patch of dampness still marked where the brunette had dozed with her mouth open.
The hem of her shirt remained twisted and raised up from being gripped at during the reincarnator's nightmare. The troubled murmuring from the night filtered back through her waking mind. When she had tried to shift onto her back, she had briefly heard Elua speaking in her sleep.
