Chapter 130

VALENTINA Alessio was leaning casually against the doorframe, arms folded. His golden-green eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light, catching me in my trespass, as though he had been watching me for longer than I realized. My lips parted, but no words came out. His gaze slid from me to the portrait, then back, his smirk faint but unmistakable. “Tell me, Valentina,” his tone lingered, heavy and unsettling. “When you look at her, do you see a stranger, or—yourself?” My breath hitched, almost pressuring my lungs, yet I held back. “How easily a portrait can bind the living, ain't it?” he continued, his lips curving in a smirk that never touched his eyes. “You appear rather startled, my dear Luna Supreme.” I stumbled back a step, my back almost brushing the portrait. “A-Alessio—wha-at are you doing here?” I tried to steady my voice, yet failed. He tilted his head, like he was trying to figure something out about me. “That is my question for you. Sneaking into a sealed wing in the dead of nigh