ELIANA
I stood outside the door for another second longer than I had intended.
The sound from inside had shifted slightly lower now but still carrying that particular energy that made a part of my mind suggest very strongly that this was not the right moment.
The headache I was feeling had other opinions.
So I knocked firmly and deliberately. It wasn't loud enough to suggest urgency but it was loud enough to suggest I was waiting and whatever was happening on the other side of this door was going to have to pause.
There was no response, the silence of a room that had heard the knock and was choosing what to do with it.
I waited.
Still nothing.
I leaned slightly toward the door. "I'd hate to break this door down," I said, keeping my voice completely even, "but I will if I have to."
