Damon finished the sentence silently, letting the thought dissolve before it could fully take shape.
It wasn't the end of his humanity.
It was an expansion.
He took a deep breath, feeling Elizabeth still leaning against him. There was something different about the way the air seemed to circulate around them—as if the space recognized their shared presence.
"Let's get up," he murmured.
Elizabeth lifted her face almost immediately, as if she'd been awake for a long time and just waiting for him to say it. Her red eyes shone with an unusual intensity—not predatory.
Radiant.
She got out of bed with a movement too light for someone who, technically, didn't need to be light. Then she extended her hand to him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Damon took it.
The instant their fingers touched, something vibrated beneath the skin. It wasn't shock. It was recognition. Like two parts of the same circuit finally closing.
Elizabeth squeezed his hand.
