The young man turned, peeling his attention away from outside and to the person who'd called out to him with a voice strained with earnestness.
As he shifted his focus, the distant echo of laughter and chatter from the bustling hallway seeped into his ears, blending with the subtle aroma of freshly polished wood.
His entire face fell, but only for a fraction of a second. Yet it was seconds too long for him to take notice.
Lucien was instantly hit with a feeling of dread so intense and all-encompassing that it made his bones turn to liquid.
