Archangel's Shadow

The quiet mist of Archangel County clings to the windows of the old brick house, a stark contrast to the frantic energy of the life you and Golnar left behind. You stand in the newly painted living room, the scent of fresh paint mingling with the faint, unfamiliar smell of the aged structure.

Golnar is still asleep in the circular room, exhausted but finally at peace. You boiled water for coffee, the rhythmic bubbling a low hum in the silence. You glance at your phone, a device you haven't checked since arriving. Forty-one missed calls. Thirty-four unopened texts. Your stomach tightens. Most are from Kitana.

You put the phone back down. You came here for peace, for Golnar. But the outside world, and the past you tried to outrun, is already knocking.