Poem Chapter Fragment

Dorothy was in such poor condition that Shade certainly could not let her return to her apartment on Quill Street so late. In the end, she stayed the night at Shade's place, while Shade slept on the sofa.

Because the sofa was not large enough for Mia to lie beside the pillow, she lay atop the soft backrest instead. Then, at six-thirty in the morning, she "accidentally" rolled off and landed squarely on Shade's chest.

Shade no longer remembered what he had been dreaming about at the time, but when he opened his eyes and sat up, he still remembered how the dream had ended: 6 Saint Derain Square had collapsed and pinned him beneath it.

"Mia, how did you fall down? Were you really that careless?"

Still bleary-eyed, Shade threw off his blanket. He had genuinely thought Mia had fallen by accident, but once he woke up enough to realize the subtle significance of "six-thirty," he eyed the cat suspiciously.

"You're hungry again?"

The orange cat rubbed against the back of Shade's hand, meowed, and trotted toward the stairs. Though she had not been able to sleep on the bed, she seemed to be in quite a good mood.

Dorothy returned home without having breakfast with Shade. After officially advancing to the Fifth Ring, she still had many things to do during this period. She also needed to determine Leisha's current situation. In short, aside from the Detective Hamilton Story Collection, Dorothy had even more to keep herself busy with.

Thus, Shade once again ate alone with the cat that morning. But the first news item he saw after unfolding the newspaper at the dining table made him frown.

"A major earthquake in the Sikar Mountain Area?"

He set down his spoon and spread the newspaper open with both