Riviera Hotel – 8:34 A.M.
The silence pressed on Selene like a weight, thick and suffocating. Cassien hadn’t moved since Leona’s question. He stood there, hand flat against the table, eyes locked on her like two storms refusing to break.
Selene wanted to speak, deny again, and claw herself free from Leona’s words, but she couldn’t. Because in the space between her breaths, the truth pulsed raw, undeniable.
She had been changing. The dreams weren’t just dreams anymore. She woke with ash beneath her nails. She felt fire in her lungs when she spoke Cassien’s name. And when Leona said You’re one of us, something inside Selene had trembled, not in fear but in recognition.
The air itself seemed to hum now, vibrating against her skin. She pressed her palms against her thighs to steady herself
