Tirena readied herself for bed and doused the candles, leaving only one to light her way to the bed. Her bed. The bed that had once been her mother’s. The evening’s events whirled in her mind, conversations with Talven, with Dureil, and with Rafel especially replayed in her thoughts as she donned a sleeping shift and settled into the mattress. As her thoughts drifted more and more she realized that she hadn’t even thought of herself as Alanna, the girl from the village, since the night prior.
Rafel wandered the halls of the keep after leaving Tirena to her slumber. He had not wished the night to end, but knew he could not rush matters. Already it was clear, the growing attraction between them, but he dared not press the clanlord’s daughter. She was too precious to them both.
“You look as though you are lost in the stars, Rafel.” It was Dureil’s voice, and it brought him back to himself. He chuckled, smiling at her.
“I am a bit, sister.”
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