The road stretched out before them in a long, dark ribbon, the car cutting through it quietly as Ewan drove with that familiar controlled intensity.
Night clung to the windows, the sky a deep, heavy blue, and Athena watched the blur of streetlights roll past like fleeting thoughts she couldn't quite catch.
They had been silent for minutes before Ewan finally broke it.
"So what's your deal with Herbert?" he asked, his voice low. "Before you returned to the state… What happened between the two of you? I've always wondered… researched too, but nothing came up."
Athena pursed her lips.
For a long while, she didn't answer. She simply watched the reflection of the passing lights skim across the windshield, watched how they caught the sharp lines of Ewan's jaw, the tension tucked beneath his expression.
A man still raw from truths revealed days ago. A man still holding grief in his chest like a stone.
She exhaled slowly.
