"The room is pretty…"
Lumina stood before the mirror again, her fingers brushing the glass as if afraid the image might disappear. She turned slowly, skirts whispering around her ankles, light catching on every delicate fold of her gown.
"I am beautiful," she breathed, then laughed softly, disbelief trembling in her voice. "I am… far more beautiful than Rhynera."
Her voice rose with excitement, echoing through the chamber, as she recalled the image of Rhynera.
Ashen sat nearby, one leg crossed over the other, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair. He watched her without blinking, his silver eyes dark. Pride stirred in him, as he gazed down at his wife, thus had always been her wish.
And now that she could, a small, irrational fear crept into his chest that she might no longer need him for the little things. That the invisible thread tying her to him might loosen.
