Walking behind them slowly, as if the world meant nothing to him. Celia's eyes lingered on him a second longer than they should have.
"One day… that'll be you standing beside him." Cas's voice cut in from beside him.
Celia turned. Words rose to his lips, but he swallowed them back down.
"Let's go. The Boss won't like it if we're late," Cas said, already moving ahead.
Celia hesitated for a fraction of a second, then followed him out of the house.
The moment he stepped outside, the air felt different.
Cooler. Sharper.
Like the world beyond those walls had no idea what kind of monsters lived behind them.
A sleek black convoy waited at the front. No words were exchanged.
Celia slid into the car beside Cas. The door shut with a soft, final click that echoed louder in his chest than it should have.
Across from him, Alessandro was already seated.
Silence filled the space—thick and suffocating. The kind that pressed against your lungs until breathing felt like work.
