Rosario slammed the door of his room behind him and sank to the floor, knees drawn to his chest. The chill of the marble beneath him did little to calm the heat of panic rising from his chest.
His hands trembled as he pressed them to his face. "I—I can't do this. I can't… I can't!"
Memories of the man on the marble floor, the way his blood had spread across the stone, the cold efficiency of the guard's gunshot—it all flashed before him in relentless loops. His chest heaved. Amera screamed inside him, muffled but urgent. Run! Hide! This isn't fair!
He shook his head violently. "No. Stop. I'm not going to die. I'm not—"
A sob escaped him, breaking free despite his attempt to remain composed. Rosario's knees dug into his chest as he rocked back and forth, the sound of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears like war drums.
He looked down at his hands, still unfamiliar, still foreign. Hands that had to kill, negotiate, survive. Hands that had no choice but to wield power—or be crushed.
"I'm just… me. I'm Amera. I don't belong here!"
The words tore from his lips, raw and desperate. He hadn't realized how fragile his resolve had been until it shattered completely in the echoing emptiness of the room.
He pressed his back against the wall, closing his eyes, trying to calm his racing mind. Survival. That was all he had left to focus on. Survival—and pretending, every second, that he belonged in this world that had been rewritten around him.
"I have to survive," he whispered hoarsely. "I'll survive… somehow."
The thought steadied him, even if only a little. Amera's mind began calculating, reorganizing panic into strategy. Observation. Caution. Patience.
He would have to learn to move quietly in this gilded cage. To speak carefully, smile carefully, live carefully.
Because in the Lobélia world, one misstep meant death.
And for the first time since waking as Rosario, he realized… he couldn't afford another panic. Not if he wanted to live.
Still, a small, shaky breath escaped him as he sank further into the corner, trying to pretend he wasn't trembling.
Just survive. Just survive.