The next morning came quietly.
Too quietly.
Leah woke to a dull ache behind her eyes and a heaviness in her limbs that felt as though someone had draped iron chains across her body during the night. For a moment she didn't move. She simply stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, trying to steady the strange spinning sensation that rolled gently beneath her thoughts.
It was just exhaustion.
It had to be.
The night she'd slept outside the bunker… the tension… the arguing… the fear. Anyone would feel like this after that.
She swallowed and pushed herself upright.
The room tilted.
Her hand shot to the edge of the bed, fingers gripping the sheets until the dizziness settled. A faint chill crept through her, even though the morning air wasn't cold. Her skin felt too warm and too cold all at once.
She exhaled slowly.
"I'm fine," she whispered to herself.
Across the hall, somewhere in the vast silence of the mansion, she knew Izana was awake.
She had heard his door earlier. Soft, controlled footsteps. The faint click of leather gloves being adjusted. The almost soundless glide of someone who had learned to exist without being noticed.
He hadn't come to her door.
He hadn't knocked.
And she hadn't expected him to.
The argument from yesterday morning still hung between them like a wall of glass—clear, sharp, unbreakable.
Stay away from me.
She closed her eyes briefly, pushing the memory aside. Thinking about it only made the ache in her chest worse.
Leah stood slowly this time, careful, testing her balance before taking a step. Her legs felt unsteady but held. She dressed in something simple and light, though goosebumps prickled along her arms despite the fabric.
By the time she stepped into the hallway, her head throbbed faintly with each heartbeat.
—
Elias noticed first.
He was standing near the base of the staircase, reviewing something on a tablet, when Leah began descending the steps. She moved carefully, one hand resting lightly on the railing.
Too carefully.
Her grip tightened suddenly.
She missed a step.
It was subtle — barely a miscalculation — but Elias saw it.
"Leah."
His voice was calm but edged with warning.
She looked up at him and smiled.
Or tried to.
"I'm okay."
Her voice sounded thinner than usual. Slightly hoarse.
Elias lowered the tablet slowly. His sharp eyes scanned her face — pale skin, faint shadows beneath her eyes, a glassy sheen to them that hadn't been there before.
"You don't look okay."
She reached the bottom step and straightened as if to prove him wrong.
"I just didn't sleep well."
A lie. Not entirely, but enough of one.
Elias stepped closer. Not invading. Just assessing.
"Have you eaten?"
She hesitated.
He caught it.
"I— I will."
That pause was answer enough.
From across the hall, Dante appeared, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt as he walked in.
He stopped when he saw her.
"…You look like hell."
Leah let out a weak laugh.
"Thank you."
Dante didn't smile back.
He approached her, closer than Elias had. More blunt in his concern. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're swaying."
"I'm not—."
The floor shifted again.
Her knees buckled just slightly.
Dante moved fast, catching her by the arms before she could stumble forward.
She winced.
"Easy," he muttered.
Elias stepped forward immediately.
"That's enough," he said quietly.
Leah tried to straighten, but her body betrayed her. The warmth beneath her skin had intensified. The chill along her spine hadn't left.
"I'm fine," she insisted again, more softly this time.
Dante exchanged a look with Elias.
No one believed her.
"I'll call Izana," Dante said bluntly.
"No."
The word came faster than she expected.
Her hand shot out, gripping Dante's sleeve.
He stilled.
"Don't," she said, her voice low but firm.
Elias studied her carefully.
"Leah."
She shook her head.
"He's finally calm."
The two men were silent.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"If you tell him… he'll blame himself."
Neither of them denied it.
"He already thinks he's dangerous," she continued, breath unsteady. "If he sees me like this, he'll think he did this too."
Elias's jaw tightened slightly.
"He'll pull away even more," she whispered.
That was the part that hurt.
Dante exhaled sharply through his nose. "And you collapsing in the hallway is better?"
"I didn't collapse."
"You almost did."
She looked between them, eyes steady despite the fever creeping higher.
"I can handle this."
The words sounded fragile even to her own ears.
Elias knew she couldn't.
But he also recognized the stubbornness in her expression.
It mirrored Izana's too closely.
"Rest," Elias said finally.
Dante looked like he wanted to argue, but Elias's glance silenced him.
"We will not tell him," Elias added quietly.
Relief flickered across Leah's face.
"Thank you."
—
She made it back to her bedroom on her own.
Barely.
The hallway seemed longer than usual. The light too bright. The air too thick.
By the time she closed her door behind her, her breathing had grown shallow.
She leaned against the wood, eyes closing as the world tilted again.
Her skin burned now.
She crossed to the bed slowly and sat down, then lay back without bothering to pull the blankets over herself.
Just rest.
Just sleep.
It would pass.
—
Elsewhere in the mansion, Izana sat in his office.
The blindfold covered his eyes again, white fabric shielding him from the light that had become unbearable since the curse's last surge.
He was reading reports.
Or trying to.
The words blurred together, though not from light sensitivity.
Something felt wrong.
He couldn't name it.
The mansion was too quiet.
Or maybe he was imagining it.
He flexed his gloved fingers slowly.
His chest felt tight.
Guilt, he told himself.
Nothing more.
He had chosen distance.
He had chosen it for her safety.
He ignored the restless pull beneath his ribs.
—
Afternoon turned to evening.
Leah woke to the sound of her own uneven breathing.
Her body felt heavier than before. Her throat was dry. Her skin damp with sweat, yet she shivered violently when she tried to sit up.
The room blurred.
She reached for the glass of water on her bedside table.
Her fingers knocked it over instead.
It shattered softly on the floor.
The sound wasn't loud.
But in the silence of her room, it echoed.
She stared at the shards vaguely, trying to focus.
She needed to stand.
Needed to clean it.
Needed to prove she was fine.
She pushed herself upright.
The motion sent a wave of nausea crashing through her.
Her feet touched the floor.
The world went white for a second.
Her hand reached for the table again—
Missed.
Her knees gave out.
She fell.
The impact wasn't violent, but it knocked the air from her lungs.
She lay there on the floor, staring at the ceiling from a new angle.
Her breathing felt too loud in her ears.
Somewhere outside her room, faint footsteps passed.
She tried to call out.
Nothing came.
Her vision dimmed at the edges.
"Just… tired…" she murmured.
But her body felt like it was burning from the inside now.
—
Down the hall, Elias paused mid-step.
He had heard something.
A soft thud.
He glanced toward Leah's door.
Dante, standing nearby, followed his gaze.
"You heard that too?"
Elias didn't answer immediately.
He had promised.
Five more minutes, he had told himself earlier.
Five more minutes before breaking that promise.
Silence settled again.
Then—
A faint sound.
Almost like a whisper.
"…Izana…"
It was barely audible.
But it was enough.
Elias moved first.
Dante was right behind him.
And neither of them cared about promises anymore.