Illara leaned heavily against the lab bench, her trembling hand still clutched to her chest as the echo of Viora's departure faded down the hallway. Her glasses had slipped down her nose again, but she didn't bother pushing them up this time.
Venus watched her colleague with growing concern. In all their years working together, she'd never seen Illara this shaken—and that was saying something, considering Illara was the kind of person who got nervous ordering coffee from the cafeteria.
Illara was so painfully shy she could barely string a sentence together in team meetings, stumbled through presentations in a mumble, and, as far as anyone could tell, had exactly zero friends outside of work.
Her only social life existed online—late-night gaming sessions with people she'd never even met in person.
But even Venus had to admit that Illara's fear wasn't an overreaction. Not after what Princess Athea had said during her last visit.
'You have one week. Deliver results. A clear
