The Pawn Shops shifted.

  Not visibly.

  Not in a way that could be seen, touched, or explained.

  But Elias felt it.

  A pressure. A distortion in the air, warping the edges of reality like something was moving beneath the surface—something that had been asleep but was now stirring.

  Valen’s smirk remained, but Elias saw through it now.

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  A crack in the usual amusement.

  Because whatever had just glanced at them—

  It had already left.

  —

  Sera’s gaze flickered across the room, her shoulders tense. But whatever presence had been there moments ago, it was gone.

  Like it had only been watching.

  Like it had already decided something.

  She exhaled sharply, then turned to Elias.

  “You have to go.”

  Elias blinked, still trying to get his pulse under control. “What?”

  Sera’s expression didn’t shift. “I have questions. And I’m going to get answers.”

  Her tone left no room for argument.

  Elias glanced at Valen, but something unsettled him.

  For the first time, he wasn’t sure if Valen was playing the game or being played.

  That smirk, the amusement, the control—

  What if it was just another act?

  Another role?

  Another pawn?

  The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

  Maybe Valen was just like him.

  A piece.

  A thing moved by hands neither of them could see.

  —

  But before he could dwell on it further, Sera grabbed his arm.

  “Come on.”

  Elias didn’t look back.

  And by the time they stepped out—

  Valen had left.