The room did not feel like a sanctuary, though it had been meant to be one, for the walls held silence but not peace, and the dim light cast shadows that stretched too long, too still, as though they watched rather than rested, and Elara stood at the center of it without moving, her presence contained within a space that felt smaller than it should, tighter than it had ever been before.
Her breath came slow.
Controlled.
Yet uneven beneath the surface.
"I'm fine," she whispered under her breath, her voice soft though strained, her arms wrapped loosely around herself as though holding something together that threatened to come apart, "it's just a day, just noise, just people talking shit like they always do."
A pause followed.
Silence pressed closer.
And the words did not hold.
