***
…and as they slept, across the ocean’s waters in a small room of Cardonea Tower…
Illala slumbered, curled up in kelp sheets and a blanket of shark skin, tossing restlessly in this chilly tower room. Her eyes burned with inner despair as she slept.
Then a warm hand touched her gently, and softly a warm body arrived. Evanshade woke her with a kiss upon her lips, saying he had missed her during the day. Suddenly the chill in her soul warmed again. The two made love, real love, before warmly slumbering together as the night passed on.
In the room below, not the width of three bricks below, a faceless man screamed into a steal mask fashioned to his face. His teeth ground on a plate strapped between them.