The car glides through the morning—smooth, unhurried, like a boat drifting through golden water. Outside the window, Crystal County unfolds in soft amber light, the sun still low enough to kiss the rooftops, to spill through the gaps between buildings and paint the world in shades of honey and cream.
I sit in the back seat, leaning against the leather, watching the city drift past in silence.
Everic sits beside me. I don't need to look at him to feel his gaze—it presses against the side of my face, warm and insistent, like a hand waiting to be acknowledged. But I keep my eyes on the window. On the trees slipping by. On the distant hills wearing their crowns of morning mist.
His hand reaches out before I can stop him—fingers pinching my cheek, squeezing hard enough to tug the skin.
Not painful. Just invasive. Familiar in a way that makes my teeth clench.
"Lili..." His voice drips with that singsong affection he knows I hate. "Why are you ignoring me?"
