Violet
Zephyr's head was warm and heavy in my lap.
She had been dozing for the better part of an hour now, her massive body stretched across the wide balcony floor. Every so often, her ears would twitch at a distant sound from the capital below, but she never fully woke.
She had been lazier lately. I wasn't sure if it was the warmth of the turning season, or if my own exhaustion was bleeding through the bond and pulling her under with me. Either way, she looked peaceful, and I let my fingers drift through her fur in absent strokes while I ate.
The plate beside me was nearly empty.
I picked up another slice of the willow fruit and bit into it, the soft flesh melting across my tongue with that familiar sweetness that I could never quite get enough of. Rowan had started having them brought to the castle months ago ever since I had developed cravings for them.
I just hadn't expected him to arrange a regular supply, but crates of them now arrived at the kitchens without fail.
