[VOLUME 13: THE PRIMEVAL ASCENSION][ERA: THE POST-DIVINE AGE][LOCATION: THE MORTAL REALM - OAKHAVEN]
The warmth was an intoxicating, heavy blanket that Elara never wanted to escape.
For the first time in what felt like centuries, she was not running. She was not fighting for her life. She was anchored entirely in the center of a bed, flanked by the two most terrifying, beautiful beings in existence, and she was perfectly, profoundly safe.
Aldren's arm was a solid band of heat across her waist, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His breath was a slow, rhythmic rumble against her collarbone. On her right, Li had shifted in the night, his long legs tangled with hers, his cheek resting against the crown of her head. He smelled of rain and crushed mint.
It was a delicate, impossibly fragile peace.
And it shattered exactly at dawn.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The heavy, aggressive pounding on the thin oak door sounded like a battering ram.
