Evaline:
The faint sound of the refrigerator door closing pulled me from my thoughts. I looked toward the kitchen to find Kieran moving with his usual calm precision.
Since I hadn't answered his question about dinner earlier, he had apparently decided to make the choice himself. I watched as he began taking things out of the fridge - a few vegetables, some herbs, a packet of noodles, and what looked like marinated meat. He arranged everything neatly on the counter, his movements unhurried and deliberate, the way he did everything.
But he paused after a moment.
I hadn't moved from where I stood - still rooted a few feet away, half dazed by the strangeness of it all. The hidden home beneath the forest. The quiet hum of the lights. The warmth that came from him, filling every corner of the small underground space.
He straightened slowly, his gaze sliding toward me. His eyes found mine, and for a long, wordless moment, he just looked. Then, without saying a thing, he walked over.
