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It wouldn’t help anymore.

And that—that made her the most tired of all.

It was a morning like any other. Taly lay huddled beneath the blankets, her body curled in on itself. The morning sun crept into the room like an unwelcome guest from where Sarina had left the shutters open. A subtle nudge to get out of bed. To move. To at least try to start the day.

Taly stared blankly as the light crawled across the wooden floor, closer and closer.

Still, she didn’t move.

What was the point? Another day had come, indifferent to whether she rose to meet it or chose to stay buried beneath the safety of her blankets. At least here, nothing else could demand anything of her. Here, she could disappear.

She heard a door open and close in the common area, recognized the scent—the sound of slow, measured footsteps. She didn’t look up as Ivain pulled a chair closer to the bed and settled in.

“I have something for you. When you’re ready.”

The exhaustion didn’t vanish, but it eased. Just enough to stir a faint, forgotten sense of curiosity.

Slowly, Taly met his eyes.

Skye wasn’t going to push his luck. Most days, Taly was still in bed when he came to check on her. Sometimes, he’d try to drag her out—gently, but firmly—just to get her through the exercises Aiden had prescribed for her recovery. Or howevermany she could last before the pain became too much. Most of her muscle and nerve tissue had been repaired, if not outright replaced, and both needed time and effort to adapt. Every stretch burned, every movement stung.

But today, she was awake. And not just that—out of bed, sitting in the bath, chewing on her lip, and looking pensive.

“Hey,” Skye said tentatively, pausing in the doorway.

Taly’s head turned, her hair piled messily on top of it. And though her face was still limned with that familiar exhaustion, there was a clarity in her eyes that he’d sorely missed.

“Hey.” Her voice was soft, a little unsteady and rough from disuse, but he was glad to hear it again.

“You started without me today.”

It began out of necessity. With her injuries, bathing on her own was impossible, and he was glad to help. Plus, with all the pain potion Aiden had her on in those early days, Skye had half-worried she might pass out in the bath. And though she didn’t need him now the way she did, he still found excuses to linger. It was a way to feel close to her. Every day, she vanished a little more. And he missed her. His days dragged without her around to cause trouble.

Taly’s mouth tilted, and he got a glimpse of something else he was starting to think he’d never see again—the beginnings of a smile. “I got tired of waiting.” Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but there was a spark in her eyes, something almost hungry, as they flicked over him. “You’re still welcome to join.”

Skye didn’t need to be told twice. His shirt came off in one quick motion.

The washroom was warm, steam curling from the water as he lowered himself down behind her. Her skin slid against his. Want stirred, low and sharp. It always did with her. But he pushed those feelings aside, stretching his legs out so that shecould settle against him. She moved gingerly, wincing as her back met his chest, then tucked her head beneath his chin.

“We saw the first distortions around the Aion Gate today.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. “They said the air is shifting—light bending, like heat off a forge. Everything is on schedule, which, of course, worries Ivain. He says he would feel more comfortable if everything was going wrong right now and they were scrambling.”

Skye wasn’t expecting an answer. All week, he’d watched her try, and fail, to muster even the simplest response, so he’d gotten pretty good at holding conversations with himself. But it must’ve been a day for miracles, because she said softly, “Six weeks is still plenty of time for everything to go to hell.”

He hid his smile in her hair. “That’s what we keep telling him. It actually seems to calm him down.”

Again, that ghost of a smile—it was a small triumph.

“I was at the Swap this afternoon,” he said. “It’s still a little dreary, but they managed to clear enough of the damage to get the vendors back in. Someone was even selling these cheap amulets with your name on them. ‘Blessed by the Savior.’”

Taly let out a long, pained groan. “Who would even buy that?”

“Lots of people, actually. There was quite a long line.” Another groan. “Though, to be fair, theywereclaiming your blessing could get them through the Aion Gate safely.”

Taly snorted. “Might as well slap my name on a gravestone and call it blessed. That’s about as much protection as they’re getting.”

Skye grinned widely. “Taly.”

“What?” she asked dubiously.