The hymn swelled and the door seemed to shiver against the chain.
Zubair leaned his shoulder into the wood, a quiet force that turned the frame into a brace.
Brass light spilled through the crack and painted the hallway in warm gold, soft as kitchen lamps on an ordinary evening that didn't exist anymore.
Luci held the threshold like it belonged to him, head low, hackles up, a steady rumble running the length of his spine.
Lachlan kept his voice to a ghost. "There's a whole choir out there."
Alexei didn't answer, his posture loose in a way that meant nothing about him was relaxed.
Elias's fingers tightened on the back of the nearest chair until the wood complained. He breathed out, set the chair down, then picked it up again like he couldn't tell where his hands were supposed to be in a situation that required manners instead of violence.
Sera stepped into the glow.
Curiosity pulled her forward, not bravado.
