INT- EVAH'S ROOM - MCQUAIDES
Evah opened her eyes slowly.
Her head throbbed, and her limbs felt heavy—drained and aching. Disoriented, she scanned the dim room, her mind still foggy and slow.
The window was cracked open, letting in a faint breeze. Outside, there was no sunlight yet.
Was it still night?
Fumbling beside her, she groped for her phone without looking, lifting it lazily toward her face. One eye stayed shut—it refused to cooperate—while the other squinted at the screen's brightness.
The mattress beneath her cradled her like warm cream, coaxing her back into sleep. She almost let it.
Until—
"Six-thirty... P.M.?!"
The words burst from her lips in disbelief.
The same body that refused to move now jolted upright. A sharp pain stabbed through her temple. She winced, groaning.
"Did I really sleep the whole day?" she murmured, dazed.
Guilt prickled immediately. To sleep the day away—in someone else's home, in Erion's home—when she had been treated with nothing but kindness... She should've helped. Done something. Anything.
She scrambled to fix the sheets in a flurry of panic, when—
A memory flickered.
"Erion..."
His name left her lips like a worried breath.
Had it all been a dream?
She didn't know.
But the screams—his screams—were still echoing in her mind, like cracks etched into glass.
Too vivid. Too raw.
She didn't want to remember.
But she couldn't forget.
Then another image rose:
Erion bathed in morning light, carrying her like she weighed nothing. His face close to hers, blurred by sleep and pain.
Her logic tried to take over.
If that really happened… how did I end up back in this bed?
A knock at the door broke her spiral.
"Evah?" came a gentle voice.
Nova.
Evah opened the door quickly. On the other side stood Nova, smiling as she pushed a trolley brimming with food.
"Are you hungry?" she asked brightly, her voice like sunlight. It was hard not to smile back.
Evah stepped aside, and Nova entered with practiced ease, setting up a table by the bed and arranging the dishes with care.
"I'm so sorry, Nova," Evah said quietly, guilt clinging to her voice. "I must've caused trouble... sleeping all day like that."
"No worries!" Nova beamed, though there was a teasing glint in her eyes. Or maybe Evah imagined it.
"Come on, eat!" Nova added after placing the final plate.
Evah let herself be guided to the table. Nova even gave her a playful nudge, making her smile.
She's like a little oasis, Evah thought, warmth bubbling faintly. Like Yuka back home.
"I could've come to the kitchen myself... I didn't want to trouble anyone," she murmured.
"Hey, it's no trouble. Just eat, okay?"
Evah looked down. The table wasn't large, but it was packed with food. Several dishes remained on the trolley, still covered.
"…Can you join me?"
She didn't know why she asked—but she meant it.
"Please."
"Of course!" Nova sat down cheerfully, clearly delighted.
"I don't usually sleep this late," Evah muttered, her guilt creeping back.
"Lord Erion told us not to disturb you," Nova replied as she poured juice into a glass. "He said you were very tired."
Erion did...?
Evah's fingers froze around her fork.
She was just beginning to pick at the small flower arrangement in the center of the table when Nova added, "He said you needed rest."
Her tone had shifted—lighter, teasing now.
Evah nodded faintly. "I guess so…"
"Eat up! You need to regain your strength," Nova said cheerfully.
Evah nibbled at the food, her appetite lagging behind her thoughts.
Then, softly, not quite meeting Nova's eyes—
"Do you know where Erion is?"
She wasn't sure why she asked.
She wasn't even sure what she'd say if she saw him.
Nova's eyes sparkled.
"Do you miss Lord Erion already?" she teased, grinning.
Evah sighed, half-exasperated but smiling despite herself. Whatever she said wouldn't matter—they all thought she was Erion's fiancée anyway.
Nova leaned in conspiratorially.
"Say... did you two already...?"
Evah blinked. "What?"
Nova pouted. "No?"
"We saw Lord Erion coming out of your room this morning," she said dramatically, resting her chin in her hands.
Evah's heart skipped.
"He was half-naked," Nova added as if reporting the weather. "Well—we only saw him from a distance, but I'm pretty sure he was topless."
Evah's pulse quickened—not from embarrassment. From something else.
They didn't see his scars.
Good.
She was surprised by the relief that bloomed in her chest. She remembered what Silas had told her—how they kept Erion's condition a secret. Hidden.
"Then he told us not to disturb you. Said you were very tired."
So it was true.
Last night... had happened.
The weight in her chest returned.
The sadness, creeping in again like a tide.
"So we assumed..." Nova's grin stretched, practically bouncing across the table now.
Her teasing was relentless.
"Come on, tell me! I thought we were best friends already!" she pleaded.
Evah leaned away, hands raised in surrender. She didn't know what to say—even if she wanted to.
Finally, Nova leaned back with a sigh and crossed her arms.
"Fine. Another time. Maybe you're just shy."
Then her smile returned—bright, teasing, and full of mischief.
"Yeah..." Evah gave an awkward smile, poking her food again.
Because her mind was somewhere else entirely.
With him.
In the quiet shadows of last night.
She could still feel the warmth of his arms, the soft brush of his breath as he held her. Just a fragment of a moment—yet it lingered.
She could still hear his broken gasps, the way his voice trembled like he was begging for mercy from something she couldn't see.
She didn't understand.
He was always distant, always composed—even cold at times. But that night, that version of him... it was like the layers fell away. What she saw was raw, frightened, vulnerable.