The toast was warm, crisp, and plain. Nothing special. Just a slice of stale bread—something she might’ve scoffed at under normal circumstances.
And yet now… it felt like salvation. Andromeda raised it slowly to her lips. Her fingers no longer trembled as violently, but her movements were still cautious. Like someone trying to learn how to be human again.
Lucian sat across from her, motionless. His eyes never left her as she took a bite and swallowed the first mouthful.
His gaze was serious, but there was a quiet focus to it—the kind predators use when studying their prey. He wasn’t hunting her… but he was watching. Andromeda didn’t speak. She just ate. Bite by bite. Deliberately. Her stomach clenched with every swallow, but it didn’t fight her. The bread went down. It stayed. And she d
