"Poison never dies quietly."
The third song was ending when the doors opened.
Silver felt it before she saw it. The way the energy in the room shifted. How conversations near the entrance stopped mid-sentence. The sudden tension that rippled through the crowd like a stone dropped in water.
Eli felt it too. His hand tightened slightly on her waist. "What's—"
"Well, well." The voice cut through the music like a blade. "Isn't this cozy."
Silver's blood went cold.
She knew that voice. Had spent months trying to forget it. The particular drawl that made everything sound like an insult. The tone that suggested he knew things you didn't want him to know.
She turned slowly, already knowing what she'd see.
