Chapter 54 In The Ashes, We Rise

• Dawn crept in pale and unwelcomed. The light that filtered through the cracked panes of stained glass was the color of smoke, dust still hanging in the air like a veil across the ruined kingdom.
• Espen stirred first, her body aching, muscles sore in all the ways that spoke of both battle and love. Mikko lay beside her, one arm slung over her waist, mouth half-open in a rare, peaceful sprawl of exhaustion. She ran her fingers over his bare chest, careful of the healing bruises along his ribs.
• She pressed a soft kiss to his collarbone and slowly pulled herself from bed. Mikko grunted as her warmth left, blinking awake.