Louis’s Pov

I stepped inside without knocking. She’d summoned me, after all.

The door clicked shut behind me, the sound unnervingly loud in the silence. She didn’t greet me. Didn’t even look up. She was brewing tea, her hands methodical, scoop, pour, steep. Like I wasn’t there.

I didn’t speak either. I knew better.

The only sounds were the whisper of boiling water and the soft clink of ceramic. The room was dim, lit only by the fading daylight pressing through the ...