Chapter 30 The Quiet Moments Between Teasing

• They sat across from each other at a corner table in the inn’s modest dining hall, surrounded by the low hum of conversations and clinking cutlery. Aelries nibbled at her food while sneaking glances at the man in front of her—still annoying, still teasing, but quieter tonight. Gentler.
• Mixarnt didn’t crack as many dumb jokes as usual. His laughter, when it came, was softer. His eyes—always brimming with mischief—held something else now. Something more vulnerable. Something more… real.
• And strangely, Aelries didn’t mind.