30 Minutes Earlier
The King's Nest was quiet, save for the soft, rhythmic breathing of the woman beside him.
Syris lay on his back, staring at the dark stone ceiling, his body rigid. He hadn't slept. How could he?
Beside him, Ren shifted. She let out a small, pained whimper in her sleep, her foot twitching as it brushed against the furs. The healing skin was sensitive. She rolled over and her face came to rest inches from his shoulder.
Syris turned his head slowly.
Her red hair was a chaotic halo around her pale face. Her lips were slightly parted.
She was the strangest creature he had ever encountered.
'Mammals,' Syris thought with a curl of his lip. 'They are usually hideous and smelly.'
But Ren... Ren smelled like the sweetest flower. And her skin was soft. So very soft.
He remembered the taste of her. The memory of the previous night—the salt of her skin, the sweetness of her release.
Syris clenched his jaw, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her sleeping face.
