The resonance of the heavy iron latches sealing shut had barely faded from the air when Kelen caught that 'unnatural resonance' once more.
A gust of cold air that had drifted through the crack in the door suddenly ceased—as if the world outside had collectively held its breath.
Kelen's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, 'Leopard's Claw.' He took his first step toward the stairs. The old wooden steps remained perfectly silent beneath him.
He balanced his weight on the balls of his feet, moving like a leopard closing in on its prey. Every stride followed a disciplined rhythm—thump… thump…
As he ascended, the silence within the house grew even heavier. The cold air of the upper corridor struck his face. The bedroom door stood slightly ajar.
Kelen's footsteps faltered at the threshold of the room. Zara was not asleep. She stood by the window.
She was wearing a white, delicate frock that looked incredibly soft. In the gusts of cold air drifting in from outside, the fabric of the frock twisted slowly.
As if being caressed by invisible hands. Zara gripped the heavy iron bars of the window with her slender hands.
As if she wished to break through this cage of protection and merge into the infinite void outside. The vista of Vespera had transformed completely.
The saffron and violet hues had dissolved into an ink-black darkness. Only that 'unnatural resonance' rising from behind the distant hills sent tremors through the air.
Zara's back was toward Kelen. She was so still that it seemed she had even stopped breathing. She wasn't merely looking at that terrifying silence outside; she was feeling it.
Kelen took a very light step forward. Zara did not turn. Her gaze remained fixed on that dark horizon.
The silent ascent of the stairs concluded. The air within the room was cold, feeling heavier and more mysterious than the stillness of the corridor outside.
Kelen's frame froze at the threshold like a monolith. The scene before him was like a dreamlike painting, a strange conflict between softness and severity.
Zara stood near the window. She was clad in a white frock of such light and velvety texture that it seemed woven from fragments of clouds.
The icy wind, filtering through the iron bars of the window, toyed with the fabric. The soft material billowed in the gusts like rhythmic waves.
Sometimes clinging to her form and at other times spreading out like ethereal wings. Kelen's sharp, warrior-like gaze, which usually sought only threats.
Remained fixed upon that white silhouette for a prolonged moment. In the dim light of the room, the frock shimmered with a ghostly radiance.
After a heavy silence, a very low and deep voice emerged from Kelen's throat. "Can you not sleep...?" The sudden sound shattered the stillness of the room.
Zara's body gave a slight shiver. She turned slowly, her eyes reflecting a mixture of the dread from that 'unnatural resonance' and sheer surprise.
She looked at Kelen's rugged face, half-hidden in the shadows. "What are you doing here?" Zara whispered, an unspoken nervousness lacing her voice.
Instead of answering, Kelen moved forward. He muffled the tread of his heavy boots against the softness of the rug.
He reached so close to her that Zara could feel the coldness of the heavy chain bound to his wrist. Zara's breath hitched; looking up at him, she asked, "What happened...?"
Kelen searched her eyes, where curiosity and fear swam together. He offered no verbal explanation. Instead, he gripped the heavy wooden shutters.
With a faint creak..., he pulled the shutters shut and slotted the brass latches into their grooves one by one. Clack... clack... clack...
Behind the iron bars, there was now a thick layer of wood. Kelen's face was now very near to hers, his voice carrying an undeniable warning.
"Until five in the morning... until dawn breaks and the light has fully spread, do not open this window."
The gravity in his eyes suppressed the many questions rising within Zara. Her lips parted to ask about the strange echoes of Vespera and this sudden vigilance.
But seeing the unwavering resolve on Kelen's face, she kept her curiosity contained. Zara took a long, labored breath, as if trying to steady the fear within her.
"Fine," she said in a barely audible whisper. Following Kelen's stone-cold warning, a heavy silence permeated the room.
Zara searched Kelen's eyes for a moment, seeing a deep layer of vigilance etched within them. She said nothing more. Her steps turned.
And the hem of her white frock created a soft swirl in the air as she moved toward the door. Kelen's shadow immediately trailed after her.
The thud of his heavy boots and the faint clinking of the chain on his wrist—chink...—followed her to the brink of the stairs.
"There is no need," Zara said without turning, her voice firm. "Stay up here. I'll be right back."
Kelen's footsteps faltered right at the topmost threshold of the stairs. His fists clenched, yet he did not defy her command.
He remained standing in the dark corridor like a lifeless statue, his eyes tracking the white silhouette descending until she vanished into the gloom of the kitchen.
The kitchen below was draped in stillness. The hum of the refrigerator opening—hmmm...—and the blue light spilling from it washed over Zara's face.
Giving her a ghostly radiance for a few seconds. She pulled out the chilled bottles, the condensation on their surfaces sending a shiver through her fingertips.
When she returned upstairs, Kelen was standing exactly where she had left him—unwavering and alert. Zara stepped into the room and set the bottles on the table.
She picked up a cold can and held it out toward him. "Drink," Zara said briefly. Kelen accepted the cold can, but his brows knit together.
"If you needed something, I would have fetched it," he said in a low voice, laced with both the frustration and concern of a guardian.
Zara took a cold breath and slowly shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Just drink this." Kelen offered no further argument.
He popped the can open—k-crack...—and let the cold liquid slide down his throat. Zara took a sip from her own can as well.
The crispness of the drink settled within her, yet the restlessness in her eyes did not fade. She looked toward the sealed window of the room.
Behind which the darkness of Vespera and that 'unnatural resonance' lay in wait. "I can't sleep," Zara whispered, her voice a strange blend of exhaustion and wakefulness.