Iris nodded, and the tension that had held her spine rigid for days finally gave way to something resembling release. It wasn't happiness; she was beyond such simple emotions, but it was the specific, hollow relief of someone who had finally named their demon and found that the demon did not flinch.
She had laid her vulnerability bare, and instead of exploitation, she had found partnership.
That evening, they trained in the hunting grounds beyond the household's outer walls. The terrain was unforgiving: a tangle of ancient roots, treacherous shale slopes, and dense thickets that demanded a predator's patience rather than a soldier's speed.
They moved through the twilight like two ghosts, tracking a deliberately difficult quarry through the deepening shadows.
Iris found herself performing a strange, unconscious recalibration of her own boundaries. More than once, she positioned herself closer to Rex than the exercise strictly required.
