Chapter 73

Seris’s POV

The room was drenched in an uncanny stillness, as though time itself had stopped. Only the steady drip of water from a crooked faucet echoed against the cold stone walls, each drop magnified in the silence. That single, persistent sound turned an ordinary room into a scene from a nightmare. The air felt heavy and viscous, thick enough to slice with a blade, and I could almost taste the tension on my tongue.

Ahead of me, Saelis leaned against the doorframe, casual and utterly unafraid. The wooden jamb creaked beneath her shoulder, but she seemed to relish even that small protest. Her face was serene, almost meditative, yet her emerald-green eyes glittered with a feral blend of anger, fear, and betrayal. Contrasting sharply, my own eyes—icy blue—burned with fury and shock, meeting hers in a silent, hostile challenge.

Reddish-gold hair tumbled over her shoulders in loose waves, catching the flicker of the single overhead bulb. In her right hand, she