[Lavinia's Pov]
Lysander sat back on the couch, giggling like someone had just told him Santa was real and paid taxes. "I'm… a big brother," he whispered like a dreamer on a sugar high. "I am a big brother. I'm a big brother."
Good for you, Sir Redhair Enthusiasm.
Me?
I was reclining like a mini monarch with a grape in each cheek, munching with the elegance of someone who had once filed quarterly taxes and survived Karen from HR. Life was good.
Until it wasn't.
Because someone suddenly blinked like a memory slapped him in the face with a wet sandal.
"Oh right… Earlier you said you were feeling lonely," Lysander said, tilting his head like a confused squirrel. "I wonder why?"
Oh.
Uh-oh.
Mayday. Red alert. All systems down.
I froze mid-chew. One grape. One treacherous, juicy grape now tasted like lies and betrayal.
And then I felt it.
That presence.
