A few hours earlier...
Astraea's POV
I stood still for a few moments, my eyes fixed on Zephyra's sleeping form. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and her lips were parted slightly like she was lost in some dream. A small part of me wanted to reach out, to touch her face gently, and to lean close and breathe her in one more time before leaving, but I stopped myself. I couldn't let myself get soft now.
Slowly, I pulled away from the bed, making sure each step was careful and as soundless as possible. If she so much as stirred, I was prepared to knock her out cold. It sounded a little too much, but I meant it. I couldn't have her questioning me right now, and I also couldn't deal with her stubbornness. She had already kept something important from me, something Therion had told her, and that choice had left me with no other option.
I was going to the underworld.
