POV: Aurora
Dante enters strangely.
I notice it in the way he closes the door to his office on the shadow level. He always pushes it shut confidently; today he lets it fall slowly, as if it weighed more. His shirt is wrinkled at the cuffs and has that metallic smell that isn't blood, but reminds me of it.
I try to focus on the screen. Umbra shows lines and dots. Everything except what I want to know.
After a while, the door to my room beeps.
"I'm coming in," he says.
"Come in," I reply, without turning around.
He stands behind me. He doesn't touch the chair or the desk, but the air changes. Like when a storm is coming.
"How's Umbra doing?" he asks.
"Same as you," I reply. "Charged."
He moves to one side. He leaves a cup of coffee next to me.
"I spoke to Elias," he says at last.
That makes me turn around.
"Valcourt?" I ask. "And since when do we talk to vampires on the phone as if they were a help desk?"
