***Cassius***
I saw him.
Just for a moment, our eyes meeting across the crowd of dancing, laughing people, and everything else faded into background noise.
Aldrik stood in the shadows near the docks, partially hidden but not hidden enough, and the expression on his face was raw and unguarded in a way I'd never seen during our marriage.
Hunger, jealousy, something desperate and possessive that made my breath catch.
"Caelan?" Silas's voice cut through the moment. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
My attention jerked back to him, the connection breaking. "What?"
"You just went pale," Silas said, concern clear in his expression. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine," I said automatically, though my heart was hammering. "I just... thought I saw someone."
I glanced back toward where Aldrik had been standing, needing to know if he was still there, if that look on his face had been real or if I'd imagined the intensity of it.
The space was empty.
He was gone.
