DARIUSThe first thing I noticed was the silence.Not the kind you get when a room is empty, but the kind that presses in on you, thick and suffocating, like the walls themselves are waiting for you to break.I sat with my back against the cold stone, one knee drawn up slightly as I tried to steady my breathing. It wasn’t working. Every inhale felt wrong, like something inside me wasn’t aligning the way it should.Across from me, Draven didn’t sit.He paced.Back and forth, slow at first, then sharper, restless, like he was trying to burn through whatever restraint still held him together. His shoulders were tense, his jaw locked, his hands curling into fists every few seconds like he was imagining tearing something apart.Or someone.The collar around his neck caught the dim light every time he moved.I hated the sight of it.I hated the one on mine even more.I shifted slightly, the metal pressing uncomfortably against my skin, the faint hum of whatever power it held crawling under
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