Chapter 15

The first rays of dawn filtered through the kitchen blinds, casting soft stripes across Thomas’s plate. He lifted a hand and, almost absently, brushed the side of his forehead as if checking for an invisible fever. Then he offered a gentle smile to Cassandra, still seated across from him, and took up his fork. He speared a piece of scrambled egg, but before he could even bring it to his lips, his appetite vanished altogether. He set the fork down and leaned back slightly, eyeing the meal in front of him. Coffee—that was what he truly wanted.

That was odd, he thought, glancing at the golden toast and bacon on the plate. Just these past few mornings, he’d been enjoying his breakfast routine. Why the sudden disinterest? Thomas frowned, staring at the familiar arrangement of food as though it had transformed overnight into something unappetizing.

He scarcely noticed the movement beside him until Cassandra’s hand closed around his. He paused mid-reach for the coffee pot and l