|| Lilac’s POV ||

The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains of Alaric's bedroom, painting golden stripes across the rumpled sheets where he should have been. My fingers traced the cold, empty space beside me— another night he'd come home after I'd fallen asleep, another dawn he'd slipped away before I woke.

Always gone. Always exhausted. Always running after the rogues and witches!

I sat up, pressing a hand to the subtle swell of my stomach. The baby— our ...