-Ezra:
Aurelian came back exactly when he said he would.
I noticed it before I even saw him. There was a shift in the air, something subtle but sharp enough to pull my attention away from everything else. My senses picked up on it instinctively—the faint sound of his steps, the change in the silence, the way everyone in the room seemed to become just a little more alert without saying a word. I was still sitting on the couch beside Julien, my body relaxed on the surface, but underneath, there was a quiet tension coiled in my muscles, ready without me even telling it to be.
Then he stepped into the room.
The first thing my eyes locked onto wasn't his face. It was the book in his hand.
