Asher is still speaking when it happens.
He’s standing near the window, shoulders squared, posture calm in that infuriatingly composed way of his, as if the weight of the world doesn’t sit on him any heavier than a tailored coat. His voice is steady, measured—careful.
“There’s something else you need to know,” he says. “Something important. I need you to stay calm when I—”
The sound cuts through the room like a blade.
It’s not a crash exactly. Not thunder. Not even something I can immediately place. It’s deeper than that—a low, violent boom that vibrates through the walls and into my bones. The floor trembles beneath my feet.
The lights flicker once.
Then again.
Lucien straightens instantly, his entire demeanor shifting in a heartbeat. Gone is the relaxed authority. In its place is
