The corridor was too quiet for how many people were supposed to be inside the estate.
Lyra noticed that first.
Then she noticed him.
Kael was already there.
Not waiting in the open.
Not approaching immediately.
Just present.
Still.
Watching.
Like he had arrived before she did—and had no intention of explaining why.
Lyra slowed slightly without meaning to.
There was someone else speaking to her.
A council-attached guard, standing a little too close.
Explaining something she wasn’t fully listening to.
But Kael was looking at them.
Not her.
Not the explanation.
The distance between them.
Something shifted in his expression.
Not anger.
Not emotion he allowed to surface.
Something quieter.
He stepped forward.
No warning.
No sound.
Just movement.
The guard noticed too l
