Three days later
When the call finally connected, the image that filled the screen made Alina's breath catch before she could stop it.
Dante wasn't indoors, nor anywhere familiar. He stood at the edge of a vast cliff, the kind that looked like the world simply ended there. Behind him, the sky churned in heavy shades of charcoal and bruised purple, clouds rolling over one another as if locked in an endless argument. The wind was fierce enough that even through the screen she could almost feel it, tugging at his coat, making the fabric snap sharply against his frame. Faint red particles drifted upward from far below the cliff, glowing softly like dying embers that refused to fade.
Alina pulled the laptop closer to herself without realizing it. "How are you?" she asked again, her voice quieter now, threaded with worry she didn't try to hide.
