Meeting at Dusk

The following day passed in a blur. Kaelion couldn't shake the weight of the letter from his mind, nor the foreboding sense that everything in his life was on the brink of unraveling. The evening shadows seemed to stretch longer as the sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of deep purple and orange. The air had taken on a chill, as if the world itself was preparing for the encounter that was to come.

Liora had stayed silent the entire day, her gaze always slightly distant whenever Kaelion caught her watching him. He had no doubt that she was loyal—she had served him without question—but there was something about her presence now, an undercurrent of tension that he couldn't quite place. It was as if she, too, was caught in the web of secrets that seemed to be growing tighter around him.