-Sebastian Lightwood:
We were lying together on the enormous bed, the silk sheets tangled around us like a warm, comforting cocoon, the remnants of last night still clinging to our skin.
The room smelled faintly of strawberries and chocolate, a mixture of sweetness and warmth that somehow made everything feel safer, more perfect.
Aurelian was nestled against Elias, his head resting lightly on his chest, eyes half-lidded with that sleepy, mischievous glow he always got after he'd smiled too much or laughed too hard.
Elias' arm was wrapped loosely around him, fingers tracing gentle patterns on his back, soft and slow. I rested against Elias' side, pressed into the curve of his back, feeling the rise and fall of his chest with every calm, steady breath. The three of us were intertwined in a quiet, domestic intimacy that made the world outside seem impossibly far away.
