~Salvatore's POV
I stayed with her longer than I realized.
Time did not move the way it normally did, and the room felt like it had closed around just the two of us. I kept my hand around hers, my thumb brushing lightly over her skin in slow, steady motions, the same way someone tries to calm a child after a nightmare.
After a while, her breathing changed. It became softer and the tension that had been sitting on her face started to fade little by little, and the tightness in her brows eased like whatever had been chasing her in her sleep was finally losing its grip.
I watched closely, making sure it was real and not just something that would come back again in a second.
She looked settled completely this time. Her body relaxed against the bed, and her hand stayed in mine, no longer tense, no longer trying to hold onto something that was not there.
I let out a slow breath without even realizing I had been holding it.
"She is resting," I murmured quietly to myself.
