Serenity's POV
I step into the manor behind Darian, and the doors close with a muted finality that makes my shoulders loosen despite myself. The sound seals us off from the night, from the chaos, from the blood-slicked panic still echoing in my ears. For the first time since the hall erupted, there is quiet. Real quiet. It presses in, heavy and controlled, like the building itself is breathing us in.
Darian is already back in human form. I barely register when it happened—only that now he’s standing a few steps ahead of me, broad-shouldered and calm, dressed in dark, clean clothes that were handed to him without ceremony. No one fusses. No one questions. A staff member simply appears, offers folded fabric, waits. Darian takes them with a brief nod, efficient, unembarrassed. Like this is
