The abyss had become restless.
Not violently.
Not yet.
But Aliena could feel it now.
The silver flowers surrounding her swayed in strange rhythms beneath the endless darkness overhead, their pale glow dimming and brightening like breathing lungs.
The black water beneath the stone platform rippled endlessly outward despite the absence of wind.
Even the chains hanging across the crimson sky had begun moving more frequently now.
Slowly.
Uneasily.
As though the entire realm itself had become aware of Sebastian searching for her.
And somehow—
that frightened her more than anything else.
The silver-haired man stood quietly near the edge of the platform, his long robes moving softly against the dark water beneath him.
Ancient.
Elegant.
Unreadable.
Everything about him felt impossibly calm despite the instability spreading throughout the abyss.
And that calmness made him terrifying.
