The feeling lingered for a moment longer as Adrian sat in the restaurant, his eyes drifting across the room without really focusing on anything in particular, the hum of voices and clinking plates blurring into background noise. A couple laughed near the counter, someone scraped a chair back a little too loudly, the smell of fried food hung heavy in the air.Then, just like that, it was gone.No pressure at the back of his neck, no strange awareness, no sense of being watched, just the dull normalcy of a late afternoon crowd finishing meals before heading off to wherever they needed to be. The world felt flat again, predictable in the way only safe things ever were.Adrian exhaled quietly and shook his head, connecting it to leftover tension from the island, the body remembering danger long after it had passed, the mind slower to catch up. He’d been through worse than a strange feeling in a diner, there was no point overthinking it.He finished eating without rushing, wiped his hands

“You told us once,” she said casually, voice carrying just enough to draw attention, “that you wished your brother was dead.”The words landed like a slap long before any hand was raised.Ethan’s head snapped toward Tristan, disbelief flashing across his face. “What?”“That’s not—” Tristan stammered, his throat tightening, words tangling as panic surged, “I didn’t mean—”“But you said it,” someone chimed in from behind the girl, smiling as if this were entertainment rather than a public execution.A few people nearby slowed, curiosity tugging them closer, the atmosphere shifting in that subtle way Adrian recognized, the moment when something ugly started to draw an audience.Ethan stepped forward, jaw tight, shoulders squared, placing himself half a step in front of Tristan without even thinking about it. “Mind your business,” he said, voice hard. “Leave my brother alone.”The smile on the girl’s face faded, replaced by a smirk that carried no warmth at all.“Oh?” she said lightly. “P