Page 167 of Daughter of the Serpent

The weight of his body pressed to hers brought with it a strange, startling peace. Like the earth beneath bare feet. Like the hush of the first snowfall. The sudden warmth and comfort of coming home after a long journey.

Her fingers curled gently into the coarse hair of his chest, her ear attuned to the steady thump of his heart. Each beat seemed to echo a truth she'd never dared to claim.

That somehow, despite it all - she deserved this.

This energy of safety, of stillness, of pure unadulterated peace.

Her life had always been steeped in vigilance: watching, bracing, anticipating the next blow, the next danger. But now, as she lay in the warmth of Axel’s arms, all of that dissolved.

Worry became weightless. Fear, a ghost.

The only sound that remained was his heartbeat, strong steady beneath her. The sound of nature, of the spirits, dancing all around.

This,she thought,must be the glory they sang of in the old songs.

The kind of peace only the afterlife was meant to offer - to be held, to be seen, to be safe.

She had often wondered what such surrender might feel like, dared to imagine it in stolen moments and secret daydreams - but the truth of it struck her breathless. She never thought such beauty would be offered to her. Never thoughthe- of all men - would be the one to give it.

And yet, here she was.

The swell of emotion, of gratitude rose fast and full, blooming in her chest like a tide too vast to name. If not for the lingering hum beneath her skin - the tender ache in her muscles, the warmth still pooling low in her belly - she might have believed it was all a dream.

To be here.

Now.

Beside him.

The memories of the night drifted back to her like smoke - soft, molton, sacred. A kaleidoscope of breath and heat, of whispered words and coaxing touches. Tangled together in something more than lust - something true, something tangible, real. And when sleep had come, it had found them like this - entwined, whole, as if the gods themselves had strung them together.

As they lay near the edge of the woods, Axel’s heavy cloak spread beneath them, she felt it - that quiet but unmistakable shift between them. The energy had changed. Where once there had been guardedness, tension, and space between words, now there was only tenderness. A softness that hadn’t been there before. His body cradled hers completely, a wall of warmth and strength that shielded her from the bite of the morning air. One of his arms wrapped protectively around her waist, drawing her close, while the other lay tucked beneath his head.

The forest wrapped around them like a thick woolen blanket, soft and hushed as if it too understood what had passed. Only the wind whispered through the trees, weaving between the branches. Somewhere above, a lone bird offered a sleepy call to the dawn. The sky remained streaked with the last vestiges of night, pale gray and violet light just beginning to melt the shadows.

She melted into the stillness, wrapped in him and in the hush of the waking world, as he slowly traced the length of her spine, his fingertips dancing lightly over the thin fabric of her robes - like he was committing every inch of her to memory.

“How do you feel?” he murmured, his voice a low vibration against her hair as he pulled her closer.

She smiled against his skin, her heart unsteady. “I didn’t know…” she began, only to pause, the words failing her. Her lips curled at the corners as she tried to steady herself. “I didn’t know it could be like that.”

A glint of amusement flickered in his gaze. “There is much more you have yet to know.”

Her eyes swept over him, curiosity brimming. “More?”

She couldn’t fathom it. Couldn’t imagine that pleasure existed beyond what they had already shared.

His expression darkened with knowing, something wicked gleaming in his eyes. The half - curve of his mouth sent a thrill through her.

“Much more.”

She grinned, stretching against him. “Well, I anxiously await my lessons.”

His low chuckle vibrated through his chest, and she relished the sound and how it moved through her. There was always something sacred about the moments they shared like this - unguarded, untouched by the outside world.

“When everything is over,” He said against her ear. “There will be much more time to show you what you’ve been missing.”

The words caught her off guard -words of the future.