82: Tingling beneath

Alora’s POV

There was that feeling again, the strange tingling beneath my skin. It was subtle but persistent, creeping up the back of my neck like a ghost I couldn’t shake. It’s getting more and more intense.

I paused for a moment, my hands freezing in mid-motion as I handed a plate to a customer. My pulse quickened, my senses heightening as a deep sense of awareness settled over me.

Rune.

I tried to dismiss it, tried to shake it off as just a lingering feeling from memories I couldn’t quite escape. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. I was far away from him, from that life, from everything that tethered me to my past.

Yet, no matter how much distance I put between us, this connection —this unshakable awareness of his presence— never seemed to fade. The sensation was undeniable, like a fire smoldering just beneath my skin, refusing to be extinguished.

David’s voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present. "You alright, Alora?" he asked, his smile easy and warm as he se