The silence in the room thickened once Nanny Nia closed the door.
Jasmine's breathing slowed, her body stiffening as if bracing for impact. She didn't look at him this time, her eyes slipping back toward the window, toward nothingness.
Xaden's steps were measured, almost too careful, as though he feared startling her. He stopped a few paces away, his tall frame casting a shadow across her.
For a long moment, he simply stared at her profile, her delicate face, her vacant eyes, her frail shoulders.
She looked as though she could vanish at any second.
"Jasmine." His voice was low, steady, but there was a crack beneath it she couldn't miss.
She didn't answer.
He clenched his fists at his sides, fighting the storm inside of him. "You haven't eaten. You barely sleep. Do you plan to waste away in here?"
Her lips twitched, not in defiance, not in agreement, just a faint acknowledgment that she'd heard him. Still, her gaze stayed fixed outside.
