Ryan stumbled into the gym, his body moving on instinct, his mind adrift in a memory too vivid to fade.
He and Kaelith had slipped away from the palace's ever-watchful gaze, ducking behind curtains and vanishing into narrow corridors where the world fell silent. There, love lived in whispers and laughter, in hurried footsteps and hidden corners. They had kissed beneath the hush of candlelight, tangled their fingers in secret, and laughed against each other's lips when passing maids drew too close.
She had giggled, eyes alight with mischief, as she pushed him away and darted down the hall, daring him to catch her. He always did.
Now, in the sterile light of the gym, he was haunted—not by anything negative, but by something far more unbearable: beauty.
Life's beauty.
