✦ Chapter 44 ✦
Elian had been awake for hours, though he couldn't remember exactly when he first opened his eyes. His violet gaze remained fixed on the space before him, yet his mind seemed distant, caught in a haze of confusion and uncertainty. The events of the past few days felt like a dream, slipping through his fingers no matter how tightly he tried to hold on.
It had all happened so quickly, so easily, that Elian couldn't believe it. How had Lucien forgiven him so fast? The cold, distant eyes he had always known—the ones that once seemed so unreachable—had softened, become warm. The warmth that radiated from Lucien now wrapped around Elian like a blanket, and for the first time, he feared it. He feared the comfort that came with it.
