The storm outside had turned feral, wind lashing against the wooden frame of the inn like it wanted in. Naira stood dripping in the doorway, the weight of her soaked backpack digging into one shoulder and her heart thudding too loudly in her chest. She didn’t dare blink.

The man didn’t look surprised. Not irritated. Not confused. Just calm — far too calm for someone who’d apparently just been informed he wasn’t alone in this room. He took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke toward the cracked window, where the storm swallowed it whole.