They were still gathered in the quiet room when the silence cracked.
It wasn't loud,not a sound, exactly, but a pressure, a sudden wrongness that made Theo stiffen where he stood near the window.
He was the first to move.
"Something's off," he said, stepping closer to the glass.
Alec followed, brow furrowed, his presence shadow-like. Caelen didn't move. He remained by the hearth, staring into the flames with cold detachment, as though pretending not to hear.
Cassian, pacing the length of the room like a restless cat, glanced toward the others. "She's still there, isn't she?"
Theo didn't answer.
He just looked.
Then, with a sudden urgency, he pushed the window open and leaned out. Cold air rushed in.
Alec's voice was low. "What is it?"
"She's not standing," Theo muttered. "She's—no."
Without another word, he vanished.
Outside, Ariadne had fallen.
Her body slumped to the side, cheek pressed to the cold stone, arms curled in like she was holding herself together even in unconsciousness.
Theo reached her first, Her skin was too cold.
He dropped to his knees beside her, already pulling off his coat. Her skin was ice beneath his fingers. Her breath was shallow, barely there.
"Damn it," he muttered, wrapping his coat around her shoulders, pulling her in gently. She didn't wake.
Back inside, Cassian looked at Caelen. "Are you going to keep brooding or come see the girl you're trying so hard to pretend doesn't matter?"
Caelen didn't respond.
He stared at the fire like it held some kind of answer he couldn't quite find.
"She stayed," Alec said quietly. "Even after you turned your back."
Caelen's jaw tightened, but he still didn't speak.
Theo appeared at the door a moment later, holding Ariadne gently in his arms, her head tucked beneath his chin like something fragile. "She passed out. Her pulse is faint."
That got Caelen's attention.
He didn't move, not yet, but his eyes lifted to the doorway.
She looked so small like that. So breakable.
Theo didn't wait for permission.
"I'm taking her to one of the guest rooms," he said, already heading for the stairs.
"She can't stay," Caelen said quietly.
"She has to," Theo snapped over his shoulder. "Unless you'd rather leave her in a hospital bed, explaining how she froze to death outside a house no one's supposed to find."
Cassian smirked faintly. "Real subtle, Caelen. Very noble of you."
Alec's voice was softer. " What's more dangerous—bringing her inside, or letting her freeze to death out there?"
The question hung in the air.
And Caelen, for the first time, had no retort.