*Brynn*
For the first time since freeing William, Brynn slept deeply. Not the suffocating sleep of unconsciousness nor the fitful, restless sleep between bouts of fear and pain. Her dreams were not the frenzied, shifting chaos she’d grown accustomed to. Instead, she drifted serenely in a wash of steady, silent moonlight.
She was eased from sleep by something warm and soft gently stroking her forehead and tucking strands of hair behind her ear.
“Brynn,” a soft voice whispered in her ear. A gentle warmth rose within her.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. For a moment, Brynn didn’t recognize her surroundings. She tried to make the walls of stone and earth resemble canvas through her squinting, sleep-dulled eyes. Failing this, Brynn’s memory flooded back to her.
The soft stack of furs.
The cave.
William.
Brynn flailed and sputtered as realization washed over her. She sat up suddenly, looking around wildly.