***Cassius***
I was saying goodbye to Silas, still feeling the warmth of his lips on my cheek, when I felt it.
That prickling awareness on the back of my neck, the sensation of being watched, and not in a casual way but with an intensity that made my skin flush hot despite the morning air.
I lifted my head and my breath caught.
Aldrik was crossing the street toward us with deliberate, measured steps, and everything about him was different from the broken man I'd seen at the festival. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark and fixed on me with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine, and there was something in the set of his shoulders that I recognized immediately.
This was the Aldrik from our marriage. Controlled, commanding, dangerous in ways that had nothing to do with physical threat and everything to do with the sheer force of his presence.
"Caelan?" Silas's voice sounded far away. "Do you know him?"
