Everybody in the chamber had frozen in place like they were an ice statue.
The younger ghoul who had been pulled back earlier stared at her with wide, trembling eyes, his hands clamped over his own mouth.
Shen narrowed his eyes as several others cowered behind him, a mix of fear and hostility evident on their faces as they stared.
Aren stared at Stella's back, still half-supported by Miu.
"…Stella?"
Yet she didn't respond right away, her arm remained raised as fire coiled around it in the shape of a swan spreading its wings. Her eyes swept across the room, taking in the makeshift beds, stacked Horned Rabbit corpses before turning to the hollow-eyed faces watching from the shadows.
"What the hell is going on?" she breathed out finally.
How did Stella find me? Wasn't she supposed to wait at the sight? Unless—
Miu let out a slow breath beside him, one that sounded far too close to guilt.
"Miu…?"
