Chapter 9

Aurelia POV

The suffocating darkness didn’t shatter; it slowly melted away like spring ice under the morning sun.

First came the senses: the deep, grounding smell of pine needles, cold mountain air, and faint cedar. Then came the sensation of softness beneath me—a heavy wool blanket pulled neatly to my chin, and something broad radiating steady, intense warmth right beside the bed.

I opened my eyes, my eyelashes heavy and stuck together.

The dim, warm light of a fireplace illuminated the wooden beams of the room. I wasn’t on the cold floor anymore. I was lying on a cushioned cot in the medical wing of the estate, and my hand—pale, cold, and still faintly trembling—was held securely inside a much larger, warm, and calloused palm.

Cassian.

He was sitting in a low chair right beside me, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He wasn’t holding my wrist like a constraint; his fingers were merely supporting mine from beneath, offering his