Ledgers and Leylines: A Sapphic Darkly Cozy Fantasy Romance (The Starlight Sanctum Book 4) by Vera Winters

Author:Vera Winters [Winters, Vera]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winter Woods Publishing
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Sunlight filtered through the gauzy curtains, casting a warm amber glow over the tangled bedsheets. Vespera stirred, her lashes fluttering open as consciousness crept in. For a blissful moment, the lingering haze of sleep cloaked her in a cocoon of tranquility, the memories of the previous night still a delicious ache thrumming through her veins.

Instinctively, she reached out, seeking the solid warmth of Lyna’s body beside her. But her questing fingers met only cool sheets and empty space. A frown creased her brow as she blinked fully awake, the spell of peaceful oblivion shattering.

It was then that she spotted Lyna, seated cross-legged on the floor near the balcony doors. Their back was ramrod straight, hands resting loosely on their knees as they breathed in slow, measured inhales. Even from across the room, Vespera could sense the aura of focused intensity radiating from them like heat from a banked fire.

A pang of something sharp and unwelcome lanced through her chest—disappointment, perhaps, or a strange sense of loss. She tamped it down ruthlessly, shoving the fragile tendril of emotion away before it could take root. This was how things were meant to be between them, she reminded herself sternly. Lyna’s distance, their impenetrability, was the natural order. To expect anything else was foolish.

Still, she couldn’t quite banish the memory of how it had felt to be cradled in Lyna’s arms through the night. It had been . . . nice. Comfortable in a way intimacy rarely was for her. But the warm glow of that closeness had faded with the dawn, chased away by the cruelty of a new day dawningand all the complications it would inevitably bring.

Lyna’s eyes cracked open, fixing her with that piercing amethyst stare. There was no softness there, no lingering tenderness from their passionate tryst. Only that familiar, inscrutable mask, the one that hid their thoughts and feelings behind an impenetrable veil.

“You’re awake,” they said, their tone carefully neutral.

Vespera bristled at the obvious statement, the flicker of annoyance she felt only fueled by her own unsettled emotions. “Evidently,” she replied, her voice edged with a bite of sarcasm.

One elegant brow arched, but Lyna didn’t rise to the bait. They simply inclined their head in a shallow nod before rising fluidly to their feet. “We should prepare for the day. No doubt your brother will be insufferable as ever.”

The reminder of the ball, and the dramatic arrival of Sathrenar, was like a dousing of ice water down Vespera’s spine. She shoved aside the lingering tendrils of intimacy, allowing the familiar mantle of crisp professionalism to settle over her shoulders once more.

“Yes, you’re likely right,” she said briskly, tossing aside the covers and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She could still smell Lyna on her skin, an intoxicating blend of almonds and smoldering embers. The scent was at once soothing and maddening, stirring memories and desires she had no patience for at the moment.

Purposefully, she rose and crossed to the dressing alcove, snatching up a silk robe to don over her nude form.

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