As they reached the empress's door, Lucas slowed his steps and turned slightly toward Tom, his voice calm but firm as he told him to remain outside and keep watch, explaining that whatever was happening within the chamber required silence and privacy, and Tom accepted this without question, bowing once before stepping back to his post.
Lucas pushed the door open and stepped inside with the ice belle floating quietly at his side, and the moment he crossed the threshold, the change in the air struck him like a physical weight pressing down on his chest and lungs at the same time, forcing him to draw a sharp breath as his instincts screamed that the presence before him was no longer something that belonged fully to the mortal world.
