The silence left behind felt heavier than when Ashar and Riven were standing in the room. It wasn’t tense in the way it had been before, not the snapping, teeth-bared tension of distrust and dominance. It was quieter, denser, heavy with the weight of something none of them could explain.
Kaine sat on the edge of a half-broken pillar, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. His scowl was still there, but duller now, softened at the edges. Not anger. Worry.
Lucien paced slower than usual, steps measured, hands behind his back, brow furrowed deep in thought. He looked less like a predator and more like someone desperately solving a puzzle that refused to give up the last piece.
Sethis sat cross-legged on the floor, head tilted, running a ring between his fingers, watching the energy fractures
