Evaline:
The room was quiet except for the faint ticking of the wall clock. I stood frozen, my hand still on the knob, staring at River as though he had grown a second head.
He stared back at me, his unreadable green eyes holding mine with unnerving steadiness. I wanted to speak, ask him why he was here, and why he was looking at me like that... but my lips refused to form words. My heart hammered against my ribcage, echoing in my ears louder than anything else.
Finally, it was him who broke the silence.
"Are you going to let me in, Miss Evaline," he asked quietly, his voice carrying that low intensity only he could pull off, "or should I stand here all night?"
The words startled me into action. Quickly, I stepped aside, pulling the door wider. He brushed past me, and the air around me shifted as if the entire room shrank in size just from his presence.
