Sebastian~
For five hours, I lingered in the velvet-draped lounge of my underground haven, fingers loosely wrapped around a glass of aged AB-negative. The scent of aged blood hung in the air, mixing with the faint scent of sandalwood and old parchment. The fire cracked in the stone hearth. The shadows flickered along the high arches, like whispers trying to tell me something I couldn't quite hear.
But I wasn't listening.
I was waiting.
Waiting for someone to tell me they'd found her.
Cassandra.
Or Brielle. Or whatever the hell she wanted to call herself.
I sank into my chair and exhaled slowly, one leg crossed over the other. The leather creaked beneath me. I could still see her in my mind—those eyes, sharp and feral, that voice like a dagger wrapped in silk. And the way she ran… not like a coward, but like a warrior forced to make a terrible decision.
She had her reasons.
I told myself that over and over.
She didn't kill me.
She ran.
