The room was quiet in the way only earned silence can be.No tension waiting to snap.No strategy humming underneath.Just stillness—clean, unforced.Adrian noticed it first because he was used to listening for threats.There weren’t any.Elara stood near the window, reviewing a document she’d already mastered, the city reflecting faintly against the glass. Her posture wasn’t defensive. It wasn’t braced. It was settled.That was new.He realized, slowly, that he hadn’t checked exits since they walked in.That should have unsettled him.Instead, it clarified everything.“You don’t need me standing behind you anymore,” he said, not accusing, not proud—just stating truth the way it finally