The moment Julian stepped into the open, the shift hit him.
It wasn't gradual or something that built over time; it closed all at once.
The space between him and whatever had been waiting collapsed in a way that made his breath catch before he could steady it. The pressure that had been tracking him inside the building no longer hovered at the edge of his awareness. It was here, aligned with him, moving with a precision that made distance feel irrelevant.
Lucian moved first.
His hand closed around Julian's wrist, firm and immediate, pulling him forward without hesitation.
"Keep moving," he said.
Julian didn't argue.
The street outside should have felt open, but it didn't. The air carried the same tension as the building, only wider now, stretched across the space instead of contained within it. People moved in the distance, unaware, their presence almost unreal against the sharp awareness settling under Julian's skin.
They moved quickly, and Lucian didn't look back.
