Chapter 415 – You Look Ready
Rava didn't smile, but her eyes flicked to Ariel briefly. Her expression softened just enough to be human. "You look ready."
Ariel shifted nervously, brushing invisible lint from her coat. "I don't feel ready."
The room was quiet.
No music. No chatter.
Just a round table, simple but elegant. Carafe of water. Some untouched fruit.
And them.
The couple.
A man and woman, both with silver-blue hair and eyes like calm skies before a storm. The resemblance to Ariel was immediate. Not just in features—though that alone was enough to make Ariel stop breathing—but in posture. That nervous tightness around the shoulders. That way of sitting with too-straight backs, as if they were taught to hide fragility with posture.
The woman stood first. Slowly.
And Ariel couldn't move.
Her legs didn't work.
Her voice didn't work.
Her heart slammed so hard in her chest it drowned out everything else.
She didn't know where to start.
Did she say hi?
