āI hear congratulations are in order.ā
āWhat are you doing here?ā
āWell, I was planning on sleeping here.ā
His gaze swept slowly across the familiar sitting room.
āI didnāt realise it was occupied.ā
He regarded her for a long moment, as though deciding whether she deserved an answer.
āYou canāt be serious.ā
She let out a brittle laugh, shaking her head.
āThis is hardly the first invitation youāve received in the last five years.ā
āBut itās the first youāve accepted.ā
Instead, his attention drifted past her shoulder.
The books stacked neatly beside the sofa.
Fresh flowers on the windowsill.
A cardigan draped over the armchair.
Her brows knitted together.
āOf course I live here.ā
For one absurd heartbeat, she couldnāt think how to answer.
āMy living arrangements are none of your concern.ā
Silence stretched between them.
She hated that he could still do this. Make her feel as though every secret sheād ever kept was written across her face.
āWhat are you doing here, Az?ā
He waited a long moment before answering.
āI was commanded to come.ā
Not because he wanted to.
Not because heād chosen to.
Because heād been ordered.
Her fingers curled into her palms.
She forced them to unfurl.
āWell⦠like you said. I live here. Soā¦ā She gestured towards the still-open front door.
āWhy do you live here, Elain?ā
āWe are not doing this.ā
āDoing what? Having a polite conversation?ā
āYouāve got some nerve.ā
āSo Iāve been told.ā
Something hot and sharp twisted beneath her ribs.
āThis isnāt some mission for you to pick apart. This is my home. My family. My life.ā
She took a step towards him.
āI donāt know what youāve convinced yourself youāve deduced in the five seconds youāve been standing here, and I donāt particularly care. Whatever youāre looking for, Azrielā¦ā
āLeave me out of it.ā
A muscle ticked in his jaw.
Then he bent, lifting his pack from where heād left it beside the door. He shrugged it onto one shoulder, then reached down for the pair of gloves heād dropped on the hall table, tugging them back over his scarred hands with slow, practiced movements.
At the door, he paused, and when he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet she almost thought sheād imagined it.
The latch clicked softly behind him.