106: Dark powers

Alora’s POV

The dining room feels like a battlefield dressed up in fine linens and polished silverware. The silence hangs thick, uncomfortable, a stifling blanket that none of us seem willing to lift.

My fingers curl around the edge of my chair, gripping the wood so tightly that my knuckles turn white.

Sienna’s presence is impossible to ignore. She’s sitting across the table, her eyes fixed on me like she’s about to set me ablaze with her stare alone. It’s not just anger; it’s something darker.

She’s throwing daggers at me with every blink. My throat suddenly parched, my appetite all but gone.

I don’t know what I’ve done to earn such venom from Sienna. It’s as if my very existence offends her, like I’ve committed some unforgivable sin by merely sitting at this table.

I keep my eyes downcast, refusing to meet her stare for too long, because the malice in her gaze is too unsettling, too vicious to bear.

“You know, it’s pathetic, really,” Cielle starts, leaning back in h