The estate did not sleep after the west line attack.
Lanterns burned through the night, shadows clinging to marble corridors like secrets refusing to fade. The air itself felt strained, as if even the walls were listening.
Elara stood outside Serena's chamber door with her hands clasped behind her back to keep them from trembling.
This was not strategy.
This was personal.
Alessandro had not forbidden her.
He had only looked at her for a long, searching second and said quietly, "Be careful."
The bond between them pulsed faintly now, steady but alert.
He was near enough to feel if something broke.
She knocked once.
No answer.
She knocked again.
A pause.
Then the door opened slowly.
Serena stood framed in lamplight, hair loose over her shoulders, expression composed.
"I wondered when you would come," she said softly.
Elara stepped inside without waiting for invitation.
The door closed behind her with a quiet click.
