~CASSIAN

Dinner was unusually quiet.

Forks scraped softly against porcelain, water glasses clinked with a delicacy that made the silence even heavier, and the tension at the table sat like a fog I couldn’t brush off.

I glanced around. Everyone was here—everyone except peace.

Lyora sat directly across from me. Her hair was pinned up neatly as always, her movements graceful but restrained. She looked like a portrait of composure, but her eyes—those eyes told a different story. They always ...