22. Asena
I wake up to silence. Not the cold, empty kind I’m used to, but something softer, thicker, like the quiet has weight to it, like it belongs here.
For a moment, I don’t move. I just lie there, staring at the ceiling. This one is warm-toned, edged with subtle molding, expensive in a way that doesn’t try too hard, and for a few seconds, my mind doesn’t catch up. Then it does.
The mansion, the Hale twins and what we did last night. My stomach tightens at the memory and I smile subtly. Then I hear someone laugh.
I sit up too quickly, the sheets sliding off me as awareness crashes in all at once.
“What…”
My voice comes out rough, and I pause, pressing a hand to my temple as I orient myself.
“This is starting to feel like a pattern,” I mutter under my breath.
The door opens befo
