Eliana's POV
After I finished dressing, I stepped out of the room.
Kael was already waiting in the hallway, his posture alert as always. His eyes moved over me quickly, not as a man admiring a woman, but as a soldier making sure his commander was prepared for war.
Enzo followed a step behind us, silent as a shadow, his sharp eyes constantly scanning our surroundings. No one spoke louder than necessary. In Don's house, even the walls had loyalties.
When we stepped outside the estate building, the morning air felt colder than it should have. Don was not there yet.
Of course he wasn't.
So we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Like soldiers waiting for a general.
Like subjects waiting for a king.
My jaw tightened slightly.
Don Virelli was not a man who arrived late by accident. If he kept you waiting, it was because he wanted you to remember who controlled time in his presence.
Kael shifted slightly beside me.
"He's doing this deliberately," he muttered.
