Rowan listened without interrupting.
That alone frightened Alisha.
When she finished, the silence stretched unbearably long.
"The moon didn't respond at all?" Rowan asked at last.
She shook her head. "It was like being cut off from myself."
Rowan closed his eyes slowly.
"There are legends," he said, voice low. "Beings who exist between light and shadow. Not servants of darkness—but not bound by light either."
Alisha's chest tightened. "Is he working with the Shadow King?"
"No," Rowan said grimly. "If he were, the moon would have screamed in warning."
Caelan entered abruptly, his expression tense.
"The eastern ward recorded a fluctuation," he said. "A clean breach. No residue."
His eyes snapped to Alisha. "It was him, wasn't it?"
She nodded.
Caelan's jaw tightened. "Stay away from him."
"I don't take orders from you," she shot back.
"I'm not ordering," Caelan said sharply. "I'm warning you. That man didn't look at you like prey."
Rowan turned to them both."He looked at her like a choice."
Alisha looked away.
Because deep down, something inside her had stirred—not fear.
Interest.