Сhapter 168

Elvira POV

The night stretched on.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers tangled in the knit hem of my sleeve, my heart too heavy for my chest. The room still smelled faintly of Cassian’s cologne, that cool, evergreen scent that faded when he left, but lingered just enough to remind me this wasn’t a dream.

Callan was dead.

I kept blinking, waiting for the burn behind my eyes to go away. It didn’t. I had wept once, when I saw the blade pierce his chest. I didn’t scream, didn’t sob. It was silent, the kind of grief that didn’t echo because it didn’t need to. It swallowed everything.

The tablet Cassian left sat untouched on the desk now, dark and heavy as guilt.

I hadn’t moved since he left.

Maybe part of me hoped i