The room had grown quieter again, and I could feel people listening from nearby tables.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Shadow mark,” Nova said before I could answer.
Gideon’s eyes flicked to hers.
“The Priestess?”
Nova nodded.
“It embedded during the fight.”
That caught his attention.
For the first time since he’d walked in, Gideon looked genuinely surprised.
“That’s unusual.”
“Unusual how?” Bella asked.
He sat back again, fingers loosely wrapped around the teacup Stella had given him.
“The Priestess’s shadows usually leave scars,” he said. “Not anchors.”
Nova frowned and sighed. “An anchor.”
“That’s what it is.” Gideon nodded.
My stomach tightened slightly. “Fantastic.”
Gideon glanced back at me. “Does it hurt?”
“Only when I breathe.”
His mouth twitched. “That’s inconvenient.”
“Extremely.” I cleared my throat, debating what to say. “It changed how I fought.”
Luna adjusted the compress again with gentle hands, trading a look with her cousin. It wasn’t concerning.
“You should be resting,” Luna said.
“I’m resting.”
She chuckled. “You’re sitting upright and hosting supernatural diplomacy.”
“Semantics.” I shrugged, which made me hiss in pain.
Across the table, Keegan hadn’t said much.
He was watching, quiet, focused, waiting to see which direction it would move next.
Finally, he spoke. “You helped in the woods.”
Gideon lifted one shoulder.
“The Priestess and I still have business to settle,” he said.
