The moment I stepped out of Cassian’s office, I felt like I could finally breathe again... except I wasn’t really breathing, was I? My lungs worked fine, technically, but every inhale felt shallow, every step too calculated. I wasn’t okay. Not even close.
I forced myself to walk at a normal pace, resisting the urge to glance over my shoulder. I could still feel his presence, like the ghost of a touch lingering against my skin, the weight of his golden gaze pressing into my back even though the doors had already shut behind me. It was irrational. He wasn’t following me. He didn’t have to. The pendant, it had pulsed, warmed against my skin, reacting to him. Why? What did it mean?
I needed to snap out of it before I completely lost my grip on reality.
The moment I rounded the corner, I spo
