I woke slowly, drifting up from sleep the way someone might rise from warm water. The bed was soft, too soft, as if it wanted to cradle me until noon. For one blissful moment I simply blinked at the canopy above me—embroidered, golden, dramatic—and let my mind catch up.
Then I realized the other side of the bed was untouched.
He hadn't come back.
Before panic or curiosity could settle, Nero spoke in my head.
[He did come back. Briefly. Approximately one hour after you fell asleep. He left again.]
I jolted upright so fast the blankets tangled around me. "Wait—what? When?"
[Midnight. He stood at the door for 12.7 seconds before choosing not to enter.]
"Twelve point seven—Nero, you aren't supposed to calculate my emotions like that."
[That wasn't emotional. That was hallway-movement monitoring. Monitoring is literally what systems do.]
"Still creepy."
Before Nero could argue, a soft knock sounded and Lila slipped in with a practiced smile.
