The estate felt it before anyone saw him.
Kael Draven didn't show up like Dorian, who usually came in a very planned, announced, and expected way.
He arrived like a fault line shifting under stone.
Subtle.
Then undeniable.
Lila noticed it in the way the servants stopped speaking mid-task.
In the way guards subtly adjusted their stance without being told.
In the way even Elena went still for half a second longer than usual.
Dorian felt it differently.
Like pressure behind the ribs.
Like something stepping into a space that it now simply claimed as its own, without even bothering to admit it was intruding.
He turned first.
Of course he did.
The corridor beyond the central hall was long, lit in warm gold that suddenly felt too fragile to hold what was walking into it.
Kael appea
