Amira exhaled slowly, her jaw tightening as reality settled in. She needed him. More than she wanted to admit. The will. Everything depended on it.
And Sebastian was the only one who could make it happen.
---
The evening stretched quietly across the house, but Amira found no rest in it. She sat on the porch. And waited.
Hours seemed to melt into each other, the sky fading from gold… to grey… to a deep, swallowing blue. The streetlights flickered on one by one, casting long shadows that danced across the compound.
Still, she didn't move.
Her hands rested in her lap, but her fingers kept tightening, loosening, tightening again. Her mind wouldn't stop. Sebastian's words echoed. I'll take care of it.
A chill crept through her. She knew what that meant. She always knew. The sound of a car pulling in snapped her out of her thoughts.
Julian. Amira straightened slightly, quickly composing herself, though the tension never quite left her shoulders.
