The room was small and sparse, nothing like the penthouse or even the mountain sanctuary, just basic furniture and walls that had seen better decades.
Henrik had brought us here without explanation, some old warden archive tucked into a forgotten corner of the city, abandoned enough that no one would think to look but maintained enough to be habitable.
Mara and Henrik had disappeared into separate quarters almost immediately, reading the room with the efficiency of people who knew when to make themselves scarce.
Which left us alone.
Finally, completely alone, for the first time since before limbo.
The door closed behind us and Azryth was on me before the lock clicked.
His mouth found mine with the same desperate intensity as in the warehouse, but this time there was no Mara to interrupt, no Henrik to witness, just us and a locked door and hours until dawn.
Last time I'd had to push him, had to climb into his lap and demand he stop holding back.
