LUCIAN POINT OF VIEW

The silence that followed Riven’s words did not calm the room.

It thickened it.

The air felt heavier, charged with restrained aggression that refused to settle. My anger had not faded after striking Damon, it lingered beneath my skin like a wound that refused to close, sharp and raw, waiting for the slightest movement to tear open again.

Seeing him standing there, upright, composed, breathing evenly as though this were a council meeting instead of a crisis, irritated ...