ALESSIA
Nine days became the strangest, fullest nine days I had lived since arriving at Shadowcrest — sketches until midnight, fabric samples spread across every surface of my small room, Liang's feedback sharper and more demanding now that she understood the timeline had compressed, and underneath all of it, the low constant hum of Ryker's presence somewhere within reach, a comfort I hadn't expected to need this much until I had it.
Aiden found me on the sixth night, past eleven, still bent over a half-finished sleeve construction that refused to sit the way I wanted it to, and he didn't say anything at first — just crossed the room, picked up the offending piece, and turned it over in his hands with the same careful attention he brought to everything.
"You're cutting against the grain
