Valtira.
I started noticing it slowly… little moments, little shifts… but they were there, almost too quiet to catch unless you were paying attention.
Draven wasn’t the same after Zarek stormed into his territory like a deranged madman that day.
At first, I convinced myself I was just overthinking… that maybe it was the exhaustion, the unresolved fear, the echo of seeing Zarek again after so long. But no… the change was real, solid, undeniable.
I felt it every time Draven walked into a room and tried—tried—not to look at me too long.
Every time he stopped halfway through reaching for something near me.
Every time his eyes softened… then hardened again as if softness was a crime he had no right to commit.
And that heaviness sat in my chest, stubborn and cold.
I didn’t ask him why.
