Lucas slept nearly twenty hours.
Celia… did not. But she didn’t mind staying curled beside him while he did. She liked the way his face softened when he slept, the hard lines of stress easing from around his eyes. He looked younger like this. Less burdened. The tension of the last few weeks had etched marks into him that had not been there before, and seeing them fade, even temporarily, felt like a small victory.
By the time morning fully settled in, though, hunger won out.
“Luke,” she murmured, giving his shoulder a gentle shake.
He blinked slowly, eyes unfocused, then turned his head toward her as if checking that she was real.
“You’re awake,” he said hoarsely.
“I’ve been awake,” she replied with a faint smile. “I’m starving.”
That word seemed to snap him fully alert. He pushed hi
