Page 49 of Somno Slave

I glance down at the time. By the time I look back at him, I’m certain my skin is red.

“Now?” I hold my breath without meaning to.

He sniffs once, dragging a tired hand across his mouth as though weighing whether arguing is worth the effort.

“Fine,” he says at last. “Go. But you’re back in first thing tomorrow.”

Relief loosens something in my chest before I can stop it.

“Thank you,” I say quickly.

I shove my notebook into my bag a little too fast and nearly catch the strap awkwardly beneath the chair arm on the way up. Sean snorts softly into his coffee and heat crawls straight back into my face.

I mutter something that might be goodnight and head for the door before anybody can look at me properly again.

I don’t look back toward the interrogation room again.

But the feeling follows anyway, low and persistent, like something unfinished tugging quietly at the centre of my chest.

Chapter Seventeen

Rheda

The bar is louder than I remember these places being.

It’s too much.

The lights sit wrong against my eyes, sharper than they should be. The noise doesn’t separate into voices—it presses in, thick and overlapping, like it’s trying to get under my skin instead of around me.

I pause just past the doorway. Only for a second.

My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag. My chest lifts, but the breath doesn’t land properly, catching halfway like something in me is still tuned to a different room. A quieter one. A heavier one.

For a moment, it feels like I’ve brought it with me.

The hum. The stillness.

Him.

I blink hard.

The music surges again, louder this time, laughter cutting across it, bright and careless, and the contrast hits like a jolt.

I force a breath in deeper and move further into the room.

Olivia spots me. Her tight black curls bounce when she leaps to her feet, the black sparkles of dress catching under the overhead light.

“There she is,” she squeals. “You made it!”

“Of course I did.” I smile. It feels like the right expression.

I reach into my back pocket and pull out a little box. “Happy birthday, Liv.”

She takes it quickly. Within seconds, she strips it bare, revealing a purple, velvet case.

“Oh my God. Did you get me a box? I’ve always wanted one of these.” She teases.

I roll my eyes, biting back a grin. “Open it.”