THE THING THAT BURNS
Jealousy, I discovered, doesn’t arrive loudly.
It doesn’t shout or break things. Not with Roger.
With Roger, it settles into the air like pressure before a storm,quiet, heavy, impossible to ignore once you feel it.
And I felt it.
The next morning, Lucian found me in the courtyard, falling into step beside me with easy confidence.
“Sera,” he said. I was hoping to find you.
“That’s convenient,” I replied. You just did.
He smiled, unfazed.
“I’ve been reviewing the Ashvale claim,” he said. There’s a clause you might want to see. It could shift leverage back to Silverwood.
That caught my attention.
Show me.
We stopped in the west corridor, documents spread between us. He explained quickly, clearly, pointing things out with an ease that made it simple to follow.
