Dravina POV
I paused outside Malrik’s office, my knuckles hovering just above the door. For a second, I hesitated, unsure if now was the right time to interrupt.
“The door’s open,” came his voice low, familiar, steady. There was something in it, that calm assurance that always managed to disarm me, even when it made my heart race for reasons I couldn’t always explain.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it quietly behind me.
He was at his desk, brow furrowed in focus, a neat stack of papers in front of him. His shirt was unbuttoned slightly at the collar, revealing a glimpse of warm, tanned skin, and his hair had the tousled look of someone who hadn’t had a moment to breathe. Even in his fatigue, he possessed that effortless gravity that always seemed to command the spac
