*Audra's POV*
I froze, barely daring to breathe as the chair rocked back into place, one leg thudding softly against the floor. The vibration travelled up through my bones. I stayed perfectly still, sweat sliding cold down my neck, my pulse a drumbeat in my ears.
He was here.
Or almost.
And I hadn't made it back to the mark yet.
The silence was thick, pressing in on me, until the faint echo of that thud seemed to stretch forever. The air itself felt alert, charged, as if it knew something I didn't. I counted my breaths—one, two, three—each one shallower than the last.
I forced myself to move.
Slow.
Careful.
The chair hadn't fallen, but it had rocked, and that was enough to set everything inside me on fire. My heart pounded against my ribs, so loud it nearly drowned the rest of the world.
If he came back now, if he opened that door and found me here instead of where I was supposed to be…
No. Don't think.
Move.
