I didn't even register the moment I realized we were back inside the estate from the dungeon. My muscles screamed, my senses still strung from the chaos outside.
Elena, still shaky but upright, her eyes darting around. Her actions drew me in sharper than any threat could.
She was fine. At least, physically. But her energy pulsed through the air, and I could feel the lingering echoes of the assault in her every movement.
She caught my gaze first. For a second, time stopped, and the world outside, the threat of the organization lurking in the shadows, all forgotten.
There was only her.
Only that subtle tremor I couldn't ignore, the unspoken fear and defiance wrapped in her posture.
I wanted to reach for her, to anchor her to me, but I couldn't. Not yet.
Thorne's voice cut through, clipped, precise. "Intruder neutralized. No fatalities, but they got close. Surveillance confirms there may be more. Organization's footprint is larger than anticipated."
