Petal's Pov

Sleep came slowly that night.

The camp had long gone quiet, the howls fading one by one into the distance, until all that remained was the soft hum of the rain dripping from the side. I lay on my side, watching the candle on my table burn itself out.

Something inside me felt heavy, not sadness exactly, but distance. A soft, aching silence where Aslaan's presence usually lingered.

For days, I had grown used to the strange pull between us– the faint rhythm of his heartbeat I ...