Chapter 28- Flickers, Flirting and Falling Deeper.

The lights went out.

Not dimmed. Not flickered. Just—gone. Like someone had yanked the cord on the whole world.

Julian moved faster than I could blink.

In one sharp breath, I was behind him, his arm stretched out in front of me like a shield, his entire body tensed, alert. His energy flared—quiet, controlled, but unmistakably there. Not dangerous, not aggressive, but present in that deep, bone-sure way he got when he was ready to tear through anything in his path.

I knew without looking that his expression had gone full protector-mode. That kind of hyper-focus where the rest of the world disappeared, and the only thing that mattered was keeping me safe.

"If anything tries to come through that door," I whispered, "I'm guessing it's about to meet the business end of your very glowy energy hands."