The days that followed settled into a new rhythm.
Not calmer. Not easier. Simply altered.
Elena noticed it in the way information reached her now. No longer through formal channels or predictable intermediaries, but through people who had decided for themselves that silence was no longer protection. Messages arrived without preamble. Documents without explanation. Truth without decoration.
Lucien remained close, though never intrusive. He did not ask for updates. He listened when she spoke and remained still when she did not. That constancy began to matter more than she expected.
One evening, as the city folded into darkness earlier than usual, they found themselves in a small café neither of them had planned to enter. The windows fogged quickly, softening the world outside.
“This pla
