Afterglow

The first thing that hit him that morning wasn’t the light, it was the silence.

The house felt too still, too quiet. The kind of calm that only came after a storm had exhausted itself.

The curtains swayed gently, letting in fractured sunlight that painted lazy shapes across the bedroom floor.

For a moment, Seth didn’t move. He just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the faint hum of the city seep through the walls.

Is this the right thing to do? Coming back here? Would Celine forgive him for not giving her a proper goodbye? If he's going against Donlad, will the people he cares about be safe?

The bed dipped beside him. A reminder that he wasn’t alone.

Thea was curled up next to him, the sheets tangled around her waist, her hair a soft, chaotic halo on his chest. She was breathing evenly, one hand resting over his heart as if it belonged there.

Seth’s fingers brushed over her knuckles lightly, careful not to wake her as if any firmer touch would break the illusion that she w