NYALL'S POV

Dawn is barely over the treeline when I step outside, and the cold air here is cooler in the mornings with the pine needles dripping with dew.

It's all quiet here now, the kind of quiet that makes even the tiniest noise sound too loud.

... And I prefer it that way.

Fenric and Orien are still inside with Iryn; She’s asleep now, but I didn’t trust myself to stay in there after last night.

The ceremony caused heat fever's been dampened, but the bond is still raw and ...