The room had become unbearably silent.
Amelia could still hear the words from the phone call playing over and over in her head.
There's something unnatural about her.
She refused to believe it.
Celeste sat motionless on the bed, staring at her hands, fingers slightly curled against the sheets. The usual warmth in her expression had dimmed, replaced with something distant. Unease.
Amelia exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair as she turned to the window. The city below moved on as if nothing had changed, oblivious to the way her world had begun to unravel.
"You've never left this apartment," Amelia murmured, her voice quieter than she intended. "So how did people see you? How did my dad—" She stopped herself, swallowing the lump in her throat. "How did he know?"
Celeste didn't answer right away. Instead, she lifted her gaze slowly, a pensive shadow behind her blue eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. "But… I've felt strange lately."
Amelia turned fully to her. "Strange how?"
Celeste hesitated. "Like I'm being pulled toward something. Like there's a thread wrapped around me, tugging at my chest." She placed a hand over her sternum as if she could physically grasp it. "I feel connected to something beyond this apartment." A pause. "Beyond you."
The words shouldn't have stung.
But they did.
Amelia stepped forward instinctively, reaching for Celeste's hands. Their fingers intertwined, Celeste's warmth grounding her.
"Do you want to leave?" Amelia asked, the question barely above a whisper.
Celeste's lips parted slightly. She looked at Amelia—not just looked, but saw her, like she always did.
"I don't want to leave you," she murmured. "But I think I was never meant to stay hidden."
The weight of the truth pressed down between them.
Then—
A sharp knock at the door.
Amelia stiffened. Her grip on Celeste tightened.
Another knock, firmer this time.
Celeste slowly stood. "Amelia," she said softly, a warning laced in her tone.
Amelia's pulse hammered against her ribs. She forced her feet to move, step by step toward the door. When she reached it, she hesitated only a second before yanking it open.
A woman stood in the hallway.
Tall. Confident. Dressed in a black tailored coat, her dark hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Her sharp eyes locked onto Amelia's with quiet intensity, studying her with a gaze that felt more like a scan.
She didn't look lost.
She looked like she knew exactly what she was looking for.
"Miss Cross," the woman said smoothly, her voice carrying an air of authority. "We need to talk."
Amelia barely suppressed the chill that crawled up her spine.
"Who are you?" she asked, her fingers tightening on the doorframe.
The woman reached into her coat and pulled out a sleek black ID wallet. She flipped it open, revealing an official-looking silver emblem stamped against the dark leather.
Department of Arcane Anomalies
Amelia's stomach dropped.
The woman's gaze flickered past her, landing directly on Celeste.
Her lips curved into something unreadable.
"Especially about her."