"What the hell is going on here?"
Adrian's voice sliced through the heavy air like tempered steel, low, controlled, and unmistakably dangerous.
The small crowd parted instinctively. Conversations died mid-sentence. Every head turned.
But the instant his gaze locked onto Raya, the rest of the world simply… ceased to exist.
She stood unnaturally still, one hand braced against the cool surface as though it were the only thing keeping her upright. Her normally warm skin had drained to a ghostly pallor. Fine tremors ran through her fingers. A thin sheen of sweat glistened along her hairline. She looked small. Breakable.
Too breakable.
Something primal twisted hard behind Adrian's ribs.
