Estelle's POV
The air froze in that instant.
All sound seemed to be choked off by an invisible hand.
They turned their heads in unison, all eyes on the doorway.
There I stood. My soaked clothes clung to my skin, and the cold cut through me to the bone. Blood trickled down my thigh, dripping onto the floor, leaving a rusty scent that slowly spread through the air. I could feel the graze on my temple still oozing blood.
I must have looked pale and disheveled.
No one took their eyes off me.
I could smell the shock, disbelief, and a hint of fear in the air.
"Estelle—?" someone whispered my name, as if addressing a ghost.
Good.
I curved my lips into a faint smile. It seemed I had returned—just in time.
A chair scraped back abruptly.
In the next second, a presence cut through the cro
