Rey's hand froze mid-air, inches from Nikolai's shoulder. The heavy silence inside the car turned razor-sharp in an instant.
In the backseat, Ceres leaned forward, her translucent eyes gleaming with a mixture of shock and dark satisfaction. "Well, well," she murmured under her breath. "Finally, the truth."
Rey stared at Nikolai, his relaxed posture was gone. "Repeat that," Rey said, his voice dropping into a low, deadly register. "Because for a second, it sounded like you just said you care more about a ghost than the living woman breathing in front of you."
Nikolai didn't flinch. He slowly turned his head to meet Rey's gaze, his face completely devoid of warmth. The frantic, desperate rage from moments ago had crystallized into something cold, ancient, and absolute.
