As soon as Lucian left the room, the people who had been simmering with anger but had not dared to voice their feelings suddenly erupted into hushed, bitter curses.
Lucian ignored them. He turned, his sharp gaze lingering on the door for a moment before he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it, inhaling deeply, letting the smoke curl in the dim light. Then, with a flick of his fingers, the cigarette fell silently to the floor.
He ground it beneath the polished leather of his shoe, crushing it methodically from side to side, as if trying to extinguish something far more than just the embers.
His jaw tightened as he turned to the window, staring out into the night, his expression grim and unreadable. A moment later, he lifted his foot, stepped over the crumpled cigarette, and stro
