Chapter 122: love

The soft glow of candlelight in their room cast long shadows across the stone walls, the heavy silence between Esteria and El-Kharis pulsing with tension. After dinner, the two had retreated to their chambers, where the carefully guarded facade of their public selves had slipped away, leaving them raw and exposed.

Esteria sat on the edge of the bed, running her fingers absently over the silk sheets as she replayed the evening in her mind. The conversation about Levi, the subtle glances between herself and El-Kharis, the way his possessiveness still made her heart ache and flutter in equal measure. She sighed, unsure of how to put words to the emotions roiling within her.