_Alaric’s POV_
I had been sitting at my desk for the past hour achieving nothing useful.
The paperwork in front of me had been in the same configuration since I sat down. I had read the same paragraph of the regional infrastructure report four times and absorbed none of it. Reid had come in once, assessed the situation from the doorway, and left without saying anything, which was the correct response and which I appreciated. Because I didn’t want anyone saying a word to me in this state.
I was thinking about the competition.
More specifically I was thinking about Rowena in a racing suit in the Starlight compound pulling her helmet off and shaking her hair out with the specific composure of someone who had never considered that the alternative was possible. I had the urge to r
