52. Beneath the Still Waters

The waves whispered secrets against the rocks outside the coastal estate. The sea looked calm too calm stretching endlessly under a silvery morning mist. But inside the estate, the silence was no longer peaceful. It was thick with unsaid things, tension that curled like vines around each room.

Elara stood barefoot on the balcony outside her suite, arms folded tight around her chest, eyes fixed on the horizon. The wind toyed with her hair, but she didn't move.

She hadn't slept. Neither had Aeron.

She felt him before she heard him his presence always stirred something inside her, something she couldn't name. He stepped out quietly, holding a blanket in one hand and a flask of warmed kaff in the other.

"You'll freeze out here," he murmured.

"I've been colder," she replied.

A beat passed.

Aeron gently draped the blanket over her shoulders and stood beside her, sipping from the flask. "You didn't answer me last night."