Arianna sat on the couch in the dark, staring at a dying fire. She remained motionless as he walked through the door and greeted her. Sitting carefully on the couch beside her, she held something against her chest with folded arms. “Ahna, what’s wrong?” he asked gently, reaching for her hand. She jerked it away. “Did you have a hard day, my love?” He tried again for her hand. She pulled away again, her gaze remained on the fire. “Ahna, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong.” After a long moment, she turned her head slowly toward him and silently stared at him with vacant eyes. The dying light intensified the dark hollows under her eyes, sunken cheeks and the drawn lines of her mouth. The focus of her lifeless eyes locked onto his, and her stock-still posture caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. He remained trapped in her startling gaze until she glanced down at what she held to her chest. Uncrossing her arms, and turning Caleb’s hardbound notebook over, she opened it slowly.
