Chapter 17 — The Space Between Them
Elowen woke before dawn.
It was not the cold that stirred her, nor the distant echo of Blackspire's iron bells tolling the changing watch. It was the unfamiliar warmth beside her steady, restrained, unmistakably alive.
She lay very still, breath shallow, afraid that if she moved even an inch, the moment would break.
Kael Draven lay on the other side of the wide bed.
Not close enough to touch. Not far enough to pretend he wasn't there.
They had not planned to share the bed.
It had happened quietly, without discussion after another night of storms clawing at the fortress walls, after Elowen's hands had begun to shake from exhaustion she refused to name. Kael had escorted her to her chambers as always, had paused at the door, and then after a long silence had said only, "You will sleep better if you are not alone."
No command. No expectation.
She had nodded, heart pounding, and followed him.
Now, in the half light of early morning, she stared at the dark ceiling and listened to the sound of him breathing.
Kael was awake.
She knew because his breathing was too controlled, too measured. A man trained for war never truly slept when something precious lay within reach.
The thought made her chest ache.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, unsure why the words came. "If this is… inconvenient."
"It isn't," he replied immediately.
His voice was low, roughened by the hour between night and morning. It wrapped around her like a vow.
Silence fell again, heavy but not uncomfortable.
Elowen turned her head just enough to see him. Kael lay on his back, one arm folded across his chest, the other resting near but not touching her sleeve. Even in rest, he looked carved from shadow and iron. His scars caught faint silver from the window, each one a story he never told.
"You don't sleep much," she said softly.
"No."
"Because of the seal?"
"Yes."
She hesitated. Then, quieter, "Because of me?"
Kael turned his head.
Their eyes met.
The air between them changed subtle, charged, as though the Void itself had leaned closer to listen.
"Yes," he said.
Her breath caught.
He did not look away. He never did when it mattered.
"You are… disruptive," he continued, tone dry but eyes anything but. "You calm what should not be calmed. You stir what I buried. The seal reacts to you as if it recognizes something I do not."
Elowen swallowed. "Is that… bad?"
Kael studied her for a long moment.
"No," he said finally. "It is dangerous."
Her heart sank until he added, "To everything else."
A small, disbelieving laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
Kael's lips twitched.
The sight stunned her.
"You shouldn't say things like that," she murmured. "People already think I have bewitched you."
"They think far worse things about me," he replied. "Let them."
He shifted then slowly, deliberately turning onto his side to face her fully. The movement brought him closer, close enough that Elowen could feel the heat of him through the blankets.
He stopped there.
Always stopping.
"You were shaking earlier," he said, voice lower now. "Why?"
Elowen hesitated. Old instincts urged her to deflect, to minimize. But Kael had never punished truth.
"I'm not used to… being allowed to rest," she admitted. "Every time I close my eyes, I expect someone to wake me and tell me I've done something wrong."
Something dark flickered behind his eyes.
"Who," he asked quietly, "made you feel that way?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Kael's jaw tightened. The air grew heavier not with rage, but with something colder. Controlled.
"They no longer have that right," he said. "No one does."
His hand lifted, slow enough to give her time to refuse.
Elowen didn't.
His fingers brushed her sleeve first light, barely there before resting against her wrist. The contact was warm, grounding, reverent.
The Void did not stir.
It obeyed.
Elowen's breath trembled. "You're holding back," she whispered.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Kael leaned closer, until his forehead rested lightly against hers. The gesture was intimate in a way no kiss could be.
"Because I want you to come to me without fear," he said. "And because if I take more than you offer r" His voice roughened. " I will never forgive myself."
Tears pricked her eyes.
No one had ever waited for her before.
She turned her hand, fingers curling gently around his.
The contact sent a quiet shock through them both.
Kael stilled.
"Elowen," he warned softly.
"I know," she said. "I just… don't want to be afraid anymore."
For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then Kael exhaled, slow and deep, and pressed a kiss not to her lips, but to her knuckles.
It was a warrior's kiss. A vow.
"Sleep," he murmured. "I will guard the rest."
Elowen closed her eyes.
For the first time in her life, she did.