Meadow's POV
The room smelled faintly of polished wood and coffee, though neither had been freshly brewed. It was the kind of neutral scent that made nothing feel out of place, and yet, somehow, it amplified every tension in the space. Dr. Evelyn Ward's office was quiet now, the blinds drawn against the morning light, leaving the city outside visible only as a muted silhouette, gray towers and streets blurred in the early haze. You sat across from her, Alaric beside you, Lily to your other side, feeling the weight of the first conversation pressing against your shoulders. Her presence was still calm, calculated, but there was an intensity there that made the entire room vibrate, imperceptibly but undeniably, like a string pulled taut just before it snaps.
