[Ace's POV]
Ovelia's hands were shaking—fine, rapid tremors she couldn't seem to stop, her fingers curling and uncurling at her sides. The sudden change in her demeanor hit me hard—one moment she'd been relaxed beside me, the next frozen in silent terror. My pulse quickened as I studied her face, searching for clues—the way her lips parted slightly, the too-fast blink of her eyes, like she was trying to clear something only she could see.
"Ovelia?" I kept my voice low, the word barely more than a breath. She didn't respond, but her breathing came faster now, shallow little gasps that made her shoulders rise and fall visibly. The warm kitchen light that usually brought out the gold in her eyes now only highlighted how wide they'd become, the pupils dilated.
