The bedroom door opened softly with a quiet creak. Rory immediately whipped her head toward the sound.
A tall figure stepped inside against the backlight, carrying an elegant breakfast tray in his hands.
"Vincent?" Rory stared at the man walking toward her in shock.
She had suspected Yuel. Or Vangar. Maybe even Xarion or Jasper.
But Vincent? He was the one person she had never expected.
"It's me." Vincent set the tray gently onto the nearby table before walking to her side.
Then he reached out and tenderly tucked the loose strands of hair beside her face behind her ear.
Rory looked at him, brows slowly knitting together. The man standing before her was clearly still Vincent.
The same face. The same voice. And yet somehow… he felt like an entirely different person.
Those fiery phoenix-like eyes had become abyssal black, dark enough to swallow light itself.
The feather-shaped mark between his brows seemed alive now, as though black flames flowed beneath the skin.
