***ALARIC***

My fingers tapped the table—light, steady, too controlled for how I felt. Each tap settled into the room like a small echo, sharp against the dim stillness. The air felt thick, warm from the yellowish lamps overhead, yet something cold stayed lodged in my chest. A strange, unnatural cold. The kind that didn’t fade with breath, only deepened.

Selene crossed the room with the kind of silence that didn’t need effort. Some people walked quietly; she existed quietly. Her movement ...