The sharp slam of the door closing echoed in my chest like a sound that refused to fade. I remained there, motionless, pinned to the chair where Lucian had dropped me, as if the world had stopped at that instant. The air was still impregnated with his scent: freshly cut wood, tobacco, and that bitter trace he always left behind.
I wanted to move. I couldn't. My muscles seemed made of stone, and my mind was an empty whirlwind. Loneliness wrapped around me like an icy shroud, reminding me of what I had lost. There was no one left in this world who loved me as my family had; I had lost them all.
