The moonlight seeped in through the tall window, pale silver pooling across the polished floor of Luca's room. He sat slouched in his chair, one leg bent over the other, staring absently at the faint glow of the lamp on his desk. His thoughts drifted back to lunch—laughter, chatter, voices filling the dining hall—and then to the silence that had weighed down dinner.
His mother had been quiet. Too quiet.
That silence gnawed at him now, guilt pricking at his chest. In a few days, he would leave again. And she would be left with nothing but silence and worry.
A soft knock broke through his thoughts.
Luca straightened slowly, frowning. At this hour?
He pushed up from his chair and padded to the door, pulling it open.
"…Mother?"
Selene stood there, her dark violet hair strikingly similar to Luca, dimly lit by the moonlight spilling through the corridor windows. Her expression was calm, but her eyes held something heavier—something she had not let slip at the table.
