(Isla)
I woke to quiet.
Not the quiet of early morning when the pack house hadn't started yet. The quiet of midday, full and warm, the kind that meant the world had been going about its business for hours without needing anything from me.
Caius was beside me.
Not asleep. Lying on his back looking at the ceiling the way he looked at things he was thinking about without wanting to think about them. He turned his head when he felt me wake, the bond carrying it before I'd moved or made a sound.
"How long was I asleep?" I asked.
"Long enough," he said.
I looked at the covered window. The line of light along the edge of the canvas was different from this morning, higher, the sun having moved. I'd slept through most of the day.
I sat up slowly.
My body felt different. Not sore exactly, t
