CHAPTER 213
Calixta's fingers curled into a fist so tight her knuckles whitened against her tanned skin. The way Aradria dismissed her—cool, bored, almost pitying—sliced deeper than any blade.
And hearing how lowly she thought of her, the moment breathed around her like a tightening corset. She lifted her chin and met those turquoise eyes that gleamed behind the veil. "You bet I can't do it?"
Aradria's brow arched, graceful and merciless. The veil on top of her head fluttered along with her willowy gown from the wisp of cold breeze that blew around them, as if the air itself waited for her command.
"I bet on your hostile affection towards me."
She stepped forward, a single unhurried glide of dark purple silk. Calixta felt the instinctive pull of her own body retreating a step, her heels scraping against the polished floor. The scent of lavender drifted around Aradria, deceptively soft for someone who could crush a room with a gesture.
