All Chapters of SILVER IN THE SHADOWS: Chapter 41

Nights were never silent since the war.Stone carried every sound the murmur of sentries, the scrape of boots, the low groans of wind pushing against old shutters. But in the corner chamber Ryker had claimed for them, the noise faded to something softer, almost like a lullaby.They lay tangled together on the narrow cot, armor discarded in a heap that smelled of iron and ash. A single candle guttered at the bedside, throwing their shadows tall against the wall.For once, Trixie was not wrapped in the commander’s mantle. She lay with her back pressed to Ryker’s chest, his arm curled over her, hand spread warm and protective across her stomach. The gesture might have seemed possessive, but it wasn’t , he was guarding both of them with nothing more than his palm.“You’re awake” she murmured, half-drowsy.“I don’t sleep much when you’re this close” he said, his voice roughened by fatigue but threaded with affection. “Feels like wasting time I’ll never get back.”Her lips curved faintly, th