Nothing else

The night was still by the villa, broken only by the faint chirp of night bugs outside, their song fading into the quiet.

Kael stood barefoot before the twins' bedroom door, the black box Liss had given him clutched in his hand, its contents jingling softly with each step.

He exhaled, his hazel eyes steady, and turned the knob, stepping into the dim room, the moonlight slipping through a slit in the curtains, casting silver shadows across the floor.

Lila and Tila lay side-by-side on the bed, wide awake despite the late hour.

Tila was on her side, her back to the door, her wild black hair a tangled halo in the moonlight.

Lila sat upright, her black eyes drowsy but alert, her curly hair framing her pale face, a pillow hugged to her chest, her loose t-shirt shifting slightly.

Their black eyes mirrored the room's silence, tense and watchful, until the door's creak broke the quiet.