Liora woke slowly, the world drifting back into focus like dawn creeping across after a long night. Warmth pressed against her skin, steady and quiet, and for a few seconds she simply lay still, breathing in the soft scent of moss and the lingering chill of the night air. Her lashes fluttered open.
The full moon had finally retreated, leaving only faint streaks of pale early light stretching across the courtyard. The great oak above her rustled with a light breeze, its branches casting moving shadows across the ground. She felt grass beneath her fingers, cool and dewy, and her naked skin hummed faintly, sensitized from the long night.
But her mind… was clear.
Clearer than it had been in weeks.
Liora inhaled, slow and deep.
Something was different.
Yet at the same time… nothing was different.
She didn't feel weak.
She didn't feel drained.
She didn't feel hollow, or suppressed, or overwhelmed.
