The sun had barely slipped behind the western mountains when Nyrielle stepped out of the shadows at the edge of the Enchanted Grove.
The first stars were starting to reveal themselves in the midnight blue sky above, and the mist was only beginning to gather in the hollows between the hemlocks. Frost had already crept across the ground. The frozen ground crunched faintly beneath her slippers, but despite the cold, Nyrielle's breath failed to steam in the chill winter air.
For eight nights, she had come to this place with Ashlynn in her arms. Every dawn, she had carried her love back through the ancient fortress to the chambers they shared deep in the stone caverns behind the fortress. And every night, right after dusk, she carried Ashlynn back again.
