The room felt quieter after that. Not the kind of silence that was empty, but the kind that held something in it. Something was waiting.
I stood there, still catching my breath, still trying to steady the way my heart refused to calm down. Every nerve in my body felt… aware. Too aware.
Of him. Of the space between us. Of what this moment meant. Wilthon didn’t move immediately.
He simply watched me, his gaze steady, measuring… not in a cold way, but in a way that felt wary and careful. Like he was giving me the chance to step back. To refuse or to run.
But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Not because I was forced, but because something inside me had already made the decision.
I took a slow breath, my fingers tightening slightly at my sides before I met his eyes again. There was still hesitation
