Stephan twisted in his bed, half‑awake, half‑lost in fading shadows of the Abyssal Realm.Then his leg brushed against something, soft, warm, unmistakably human.
His brow creased. He cracked open one eye, vision still blurred from sleep.
A pale face came into focus. White hair spilled across the sheets like fallen ash.
And deep blue eyes stared back at him, unblinking.
For half a heartbeat, Stephan's mind went blank.
What the fuck?
"Good morning, my Lord," she said softly, and for the first time since he'd forged her, Grief actually smiled.
"Huh?" Stephan grunted, the last of sleep burning away. His gaze dropped, tracing the lines of her form.
She was naked.
"What the hell?!" he hissed, bolting upright, "Grief!"
Grief's pale eyes lowered briefly to her own body, then back to him, calm as ever.
"Did I do something wrong, my Lord?" she asked, voice still edged with that haunting echo.
