Vale Intruded

***Ophelia*** I inhale slowly, letting the cool evening air fill my lungs. …a pause. I exhale, controlling my diaphragm, steadying myself. Each breath slows my heartbeat further, and I revel in the calm. The focus. The clarity that’s been missing. Because, truthfully, things are finally going well. A quiet smile creeps across my face as I breathe in again, the memory of yesterday rising like mist—floating, glowing. Feel it. Let it settle, I remind myself. Remember the way I soared, free above the clouds. That unshakable sense of weightlessness, of something inside me finally unlocking. And now… I’m trying to get used to the idea of a one-sided physical relationship. At least until Ares learns to trust himself. Ares would be back soon. Maddy and Ash had gone out for dinner... maybe