*Runze's POV*
The house has settled back into its morning rhythm around me.
I have my arms wrapped loosely over my stomach, my feet tucked under me on the sofa, staring at nothing in particular. The sound of Bael's car fading down the driveway has already been swallowed by the rain. Staff move through distant corridors. Something is being washed in the kitchen.
I should probably go back to the table and finish eating. Mrs. Wen will notice I didn't.
I don't move.
The summons keeps turning over in my mind even though I told myself to stop. Bael said it was just a move to force a public reaction. He said everything was under control. He said it the same way he says everything, steady and flat and completely certain, and I believed him when he said it. I still believe him now.
But believing him and not being scared are two different things.
