My lungs lock up.
I log it without meaning to.
Skin warm. Height exactly right to fit against my chest. Gait unhurried. Expression unreadable. Effect on me…
Catastrophic.
She doesn’t apologize or acknowledge it.
She just keeps on walking.
Because she knows…
Eris observes everything around her, even when she appears like she isn’t. She processes it as carefully as we do, but for different reasons.
She absolutely knows what she just did.
And Romily Sokolov?
We’ve dug intoRootoo… Enough to understand the flavor of her danger. Daughter of a serial killer. Raised by absence, a feral Russian uncle, and her best friend’s mom. Criminal records sealed. Loyalty that would ruin anyone foolish enough to threaten her people.
Roo comes with a bold warning label.
Eris does not.
She doesn’t announce her presence or posture in a crowd, nor does she need witnesses.
But wherever she is, the room rearranges itself around her.
“Silas,” Kieran says quietly, pulling me out of the spiral. “Are you good?”
I nod once again, sharp and final.
He doesn’t push, though he does give me a curious once-over like he’s checking to see if I’m dying or just dumb. I can see that he wants to ask, and I shake my head as I look away from him toward the wall of monitors.
I need him to stay quiet for a little longer and not question why I’m falling apart at the seams.
Because if he doesn’t, I might tell him the truth.
That I’m not conflicted or worried or afraid of how fast this is happening.
I’m eager.
I’m already planning.
And whatever Eris decides to do about Daniel… Whatever lines she chooses to cross or erase entirely…
I’ll be standing exactly where she needs me.
Not to stop her.
But to make sure she doesn’t have to do it alone.
