Part 1: The Shape of Silence
The coastal estate was quiet again—but not in peace.
It was the kind of silence that formed in the wake of something unspoken, something irreversible.
Elara sat alone in the weapons chamber, her eyes fixed on the deactivated interface console. Around her, crates of tech hummed softly, ready for war. She wasn't.
Not after what happened with Aeron.
Not after what Valen saw.
Her fingertips still tingled from where Aeron had held her, from where his lips had traced hers with the desperation of a man trying to rewrite fate with a kiss.
But no kiss could untangle what came next.
A chime pulled her from her thoughts—Valen requesting entry.
She didn't move. "Come in."
The door slid open. Valen stepped through, his face unreadable.
"I figured you'd be here," he said, voice low.
"Are you here to lecture me?" she asked.
"No." He paused, then looked directly at her. "Just to see if there's anything left of the Elara I remember."
