[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]
Silence settled around us, as the sleeping Grayfia finally opened her silver eyes.
Not groggy.
Not confused.
Just open.
Sharp.
Awake.
Grayfia Lucifuge did not wake like normal people.
She surfaced like a weapon being unsheathed.
Her gaze moved once—slowly—taking in the room.
Selene.
Me.
Eris latched to my ribs like a koala with abandonment issues.
Then her eyes settled on Selene.
"…Maintenance," Grayfia repeated softly.
Selene froze.
I felt it.
The temperature in the room dropped half a degree.
Not frost-on-the-walls cold.
Execution-chamber cold.
Grayfia slowly lifted her head from my shoulder.
Her hair slid like liquid silver over my chest as she rose, elegant even in sleep-tousled disarray. One hand remained on me. Possessive. Anchored.
"I was asleep," she said calmly. "But I was listening."
Selene swallowed.
"That feels invasive."
"You were in my Master's bedroom at dawn," Grayfia replied evenly. "Perspective."
