VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

42.1 || Of Sleepy Kisses and Tornadic Mausoleums

EVA

EVA NEVER REALIZED how easy it was to become used to the Darkness until she experienced sunlight once again.

Every morning, she had woken at the crack of dawn, with lavender rays streaming through the buttery silk curtains of the master bedroom. Its brightness washed over the cabin, and if it hadn't woken her up at an ungodly hour, she likely would have said it was beautiful. It had been nearly a week since Amaya left them, but Eva had yet to readjust to proper day and night cycles.

Instead, she found routine in waking before Emrys and enjoying time nestled against his side. The steady rise and fall of his chest brought security as he slept soundly, unbothered by the sun's rudeness.

They had been given a second bedroom—one much smaller, located on the opposing side of the cabin—but it remained untouched. They agreed that electing to stay together was for safety in numbers. But through the sly grins and sleepy kisses, Eva knew they spent their nights in each other's arms for a more selfish reason than they wished to admit.

Emrys' chest shifted under her head as he stirred, and Eva allowed her eyes to flutter shut. If he knew how little rest she'd gotten lately, it would have only brought him more stress. So, she pretended to be asleep as she had done every other morning.

A soft yawn escaped his lips, and he lifted a hand to stifle the sound. Slowly, he returned his arm to where it had rested around Eva's waist throughout the night and pulled her closer in a gentle attempt not to "wake" her. It always made it harder for her to keep a neutral expression in her faux sleep.

Emrys placed a soft kiss to the top of her head, and his breath teased the flyaway strands of auburn.

And, like every other morning, Eva's throat constricted. Her mind flashed back to all she knew about him, not only firsthand, but also in the visions she had yet to tell him about. In those waking moments, he felt so perfectly human—just as he had been at some point in his life.

Finally, Emrys loosened his embrace and inched toward the edge of the bed. The arm that Eva had been resting upon slipped from beneath her, and he cradled her head in his hand before lowering it onto the cotton sheets.

As she heard his footsteps pad across the room, she opened her eyes in thin slits to watch him approach the dresser. She longed to tell him to return to their bed so that she could wrap herself in his arms again. The warm spot where he had lain was a teasing reminder of her preferred resting space on his bare chest.

She let him be while he reached for the clothes he'd laid out on the vanity the night before. The plaid lounge pants and white t-shirt were far from his typical Astraelan garb—almost something she could have seen Jensen wearing around his apartment. No matter how much time they spent together, it was difficult for her to remember they were the same person.

Eva rested her eyes once more as he changed from the boxers he slept in. She listened to him meander about the space and the adjoining bathroom, taking his time in cleaning up for the day ahead: one filled with relaxation and peace that she knew he had grown fond of.

When he finally made his way out of the bedroom, Eva pulled herself from under the covers.

She rubbed her face at the thought of spending another day in their protective bubble. While Emrys adored it, each passing hour made her more stir-crazy. It may have been safe, but their confinement did nothing but waste time they could have spent searching for answers.

The Runestone's pulse begged for her from its current hiding place beneath the dirt of a potted plant in the corner. It drove her mad to feel its constant pull, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, and she feared the day that the stone would return to her pocket once Thana got tired of waiting around.