Ren managed to drift back into sleep, mostly because her brain shut down out of self-preservation. It was just a dream. A very detailed, very sweaty, very crowded dream.
When she woke up again, the world had reset.
Sunlight was beaming brightly through the entrance of the hollow, turning the dust motes into dancing gold. The birds outside were chirping their morning gossip. The storm was gone.
And so was Altair.
Ren sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She scanned the hollow. No giant bird. No naked Adonis.
Ren sighed, sagging against the moss.
"Good," she whispered. "It's for the best."
She rubbed her face. "He left on his own. No awkward morning-after conversation."
Ren nodded to herself, compartmentalizing the entire experience with the efficiency of a file clerk.
"He was a one-night stand," Ren decided. "Technically a no-sex stand, but the emotional damage was the same."
