Chapter 26 The Quiet Before

• Amara stood on the edge of the rooftop, the cold wind biting at her skin, but she didn’t care. It felt like a sharp contrast to the storm brewing inside her. The city sprawled out beneath her, the lights twinkling like a thousand distant stars. But there was no comfort in the view, no peace to be found. The chaos inside her was far too loud for that.
• Damian was inside, still poring over the data from the decrypted hard drive. Every now and then, she could hear the faint click of the keyboard or the hum of the printer. The room was still, save for the occasional rustle of paper or the shifting of furniture. Yet, it felt like the air itself was charged, waiting for something—anything—to break.
• The door to the rooftop opened, and Damian stepped out, his eyes immediately finding hers. His face was unreadable, as always, but there was something different now. Something had shifted between them after the revelations of the mission, and despite their efforts to ignore it, the tension was undeniable.