They remained on the bed in the quiet that followed.
Elizabeth lay between them, one shoulder against Aiden's chest, the other against Selene's. The residual lock between her and Aiden had settled into a warmer baseline than before, still carrying the faint echo of Selene's signature at the edges. Selene's field remained deliberately open instead of sealing itself off. No one seemed inclined to change that.
Aiden's fingers moved slowly along the side of Elizabeth's neck, tracing the same path he had followed earlier. The contact was light, almost absent-minded. Elizabeth turned her face toward it and felt the residual lock pulse once in quiet recognition.
"You're both still elevated," Selene said after a while. Her voice had lost the dry edge it usually carried. "Not as high as before. But higher than this morning."
