The loft is too quiet, but I like it that way.
Quiet lets me think, lets me spiral if I need to. It allows me time to lie back on a bed that isn’t mine and pretend, for just a minute, that I didn’t rearrange my entire life in the span of forty-eight hours.
My new room sits exactly where it should: neutral ground. Not really a claim or a retreat. Jace and Kieran have rooms across the hall, close enough to feel their presence without crowding me or caging me in. Silas is at the far end, like a whispered suggestion, reminding me of a choice I haven’t made yet.
I open the app to that same dark interface. Same slow pulse of a cursor that always feels like it’s watching me breathe.It’s easier to be honest behind a screen, to let a little of my vulnerability show without cringing.
Locke:
Still awake?
I smile to myself, thumb hovering as I shake my head. Of course, they’re watching, silently observing me like an assassin in a crowd, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Will they use poison or daggers? A quick bullet to the head?
No…
Just words.
Eris:
You say that as if you’re surprised.
Locke:
You’ve had a long day. We thought you might sleep.
I tilt my head, considering the day, but despite it being long, it hasn’t been exhausting. Mentally taxing, maybe… Though it’s nothing a few moments by myself haven’t cured.
Eris:
You say that like you’ve been watching.
The pause that follows is deliberate, measured by the beats of my heart… And I already have a good guess who I’m talking to.
Locke:
Always.
Heat curls low in my stomach, coiling around this depraved need I have for these men. I shift on the bed, worn cotton fabric sliding against bare skin. I’m still wearing a shirt that isn’t mine. And I lost my pants when I closed the bedroom door, but I have absolutely no intention of fixing that.
Eris:
So… who am I talking to tonight?
Hollow?
Whisper?
Cipher?
Locke:
Someone who hasn’t stopped thinking about the way you smile.
Eris:
That narrows it down to…
