The voice outside was low, cold, cutting through the silence like a blade.
"You've gone too far, Sebastian. Too far."
Aria's breath caught in her throat. She clutched her chest, her nails biting into her skin as if pain could ground her. Lorenzo's jaw clenched hard, his finger pressed against the trigger. Sebastian did not move. His smile remained, but the muscles in his face twitched.
Another knock, harder this time. Boom. Boom. The door shook on its hinges. Aria flinched. Sebastian's grip on the ring tightened. His eyes flicked to the door and back to Aria.
"Stay where you are," he said, voice sharp, low, dangerous.
Lorenzo sneered. "Afraid, Draven? Afraid of someone finally knocking on your pretty little glass world?"
Sebastian's head tilted, cold amusement flashing across his face. "Afraid? No. Curious, perhaps. Only fools knock on my door without invitation."
