Elias felt the lab change before he heard anything.
A shift in the air pressure. A change in the electrical hum of the hallway. A subtle tightening in the muscles along the guards' shoulders. It was the kind of silent, instinctive readiness soldiers got when something stronger than them approached.
And he wasn't the only one who noticed.
She's coming. The creature's voice slid across the inside of his skull like cold metal scraping stone.
Try not to embarrass us. Again.
Elias ignored it and checked the restraints on the sample rack for the third time—not because they needed checking, but because his hands needed movement.
He could not look like he was waiting.
He could not look like he was bracing.
He was a doctor—this was his lab—this was his domain, he reminded himself. Logic. Precision. Control.
But even he understood the truth, this domain wasn't his the second she stepped into it.
