GIDEON VALE
The den was always quieter during the day.
Not silent, Just… restrained.
Like a beast that knew how to sit still when it needed to.
I stood at the far end of the corridor, half-shadowed, watching.
Blossom’s voice carried first. Bright and chirpy. It didn’t belong here, and yet it threaded through the walls like it had always existed inside them.
Then her.
Matilda.
She walked beside Blossom, slower. Not hesitant-she wasn’t the type-but observant. Her eyes moved constantly, taking things in, dissecting, refusing to look overwhelmed even when she should have been.
Most people shrank the first time they stepped past the walls.
She didn’t.
She absorbed.
That was worse.
My jaw tightened slightly.
“Careful,” Ashton’s voice slid in beside me. “You’re staring.”
“I’m obser
