"Where's Jean?" Salviana asked suddenly, her voice slicing through the uneasy silence like a blade.
Alaric drew a slow breath, his jaw tight, before exhaling through his nose. "You shouldn't be worrying about Miss Goliath right now," he said softly but firmly. "You need to focus on yourself first."
Salviana blinked, tilting her head as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "Miss Goliath?" she repeated, the title foreign on her tongue. Since when did they start calling Jeanie that? It felt distant, impersonal — like the woman she considered a friend had somehow become a stranger. "I'm fine now," she added, her tone sharpening. "And not seeing her for this long is unsettling. Where is she?"
Alaric shifted uncomfortably. "She wasn't with you when that whacko took you," he muttered.
"Alaric!" Salviana snapped, a frown darkening her face. She turned swiftly to Lucius. "Where's Jeanie?"
