Backstage Corridor, The Aetherium
The applause broke like a wave. Hunter watched from the service door as Lin Yawen rose, bowed once—a sharp, economical gesture—and exited stage left. She did not smile. She did not acknowledge the standing ovation. She simply vanished into the wings, trailing silence in her wake.
His earpiece crackled. “Vault fully accessed. Downloading now. Estimated completion: four minutes.”
Four minutes. In hockey, that was half a period. In this game, it felt like a lifetime.
He saw Stella rise from her seat, moving with the crowd toward the reception hall. Her eyes met his through the cracked door—a fraction of a second, nothing more—then she was gone, swallowed by velvet and perfume.
“Hunter,” Freya’s voice tightened. “Her security detail is moving. Two heading
