Dusk came on a timer that didn't ask the sun. The river wore a film of light like a cheap suit, and the wind traded gossip between buildings that had never agreed to like each other. The storage bay waited. The chalk ring had been redrawn, thinner, meaner. The dampers sat quiet, pretending innocence until asked to sing.
Arden tied her right boot by muscle memory and stared at the left laces like they were a riddle someone else could read. She made a square knot by guessing. It held. She hated that it held without her.
Kael watched the door and rolled his shoulders twice. Amara checked the vent and found nothing but air that had learned to lie. Callum adjusted the mirror until it told the truth about the roofline. Olli hovered at the switch with a face that asked the room not to be stupid.
Footsteps. Margaret entered first, no mask, no apology. Two of her people followed, then two more. They stopped at the chalk and looked like they'd trained there their entire lives.
