The Unspoken Accord
She looked up as they entered.
Mimi’s first impression was of a ghost who had chosen to wear solid form. Clara was in her late twenties, with her father’s sharp, intelligent bone structure, but none of his ethereal frailty. Her eyes, the same pale blue as Jonathan’s, were clear, deeply tired, and held a sorrow that seemed decades old. She wore no makeup, her dark hair pulled into a simple knot. She looked like what she was: a humanitarian worker pulled from a crisis zone into a personal apocalypse.
“You’re Clara,” Mimi said, not as a question. She took the seat opposite, William standing protectively behind her, Strom leaning against the doorframe, a silent observer.