After the steamy shower, two of them were already in bed. Nyla was in an especially good mood, giggling softly to herself and purring in satisfaction as she shifted beside him in bed to sleep.
The exhaustion washed over Damon without warning. The moment his back hit the soft cushion of the bed, his eyes grew restlessly tired, and the last thing he could remember before he fell asleep was Nyla's head settling on his chest.
***
Damon was the first to wake up.
The room was quiet, the kind of quiet that only existed in places the world had mostly emptied out. Grey morning light came through the curtains, thin and even, and for a moment, he simply lay there adjusting to the fact that the surface beneath him was soft and still and not trying to flood or collapse or produce something that wanted to kill him.
