Cierra:
“I just need a walk,” I told Dominic, my voice rougher than I intended. “Some air. The walls are… too close tonight.”
His gaze lingered, steady and searching, as if he could see straight into the storm brewing under my skin. For a moment, I thought he might argue, might insist on following me like the unyielding shadow he had become. But instead, he inclined his head in that quiet way of his—command wrapped in concession.
“Stay where I can find you,” he murmured.
I left before the tension in my throat could choke me, the corridors stretching ahead, cool and dim. The silence was heavy but almost welcome, pressing against me with none of the weight of watchful eyes. My footsteps echoed in uneven rhythm, carrying me nowhere, only away.
Until I heard them.
The voices drifted from
