The heavy oak doors of the chamber clicked shut with a soft, final sound that echoed in the sudden, thick silence. It wasn't a loud noise, but to Lin Ruoli, it sounded like the locking of a vault. The air, which had been charged with the sharp energy of a high-stakes negotiation, instantly grew heavier, more intimate, and a thousand times more dangerous. She was trapped.
Alaric dismissed the previous tension with a charming, predatory smile that didn't quite reach his ruby eyes. He gestured with a casual, almost lazy, wave of his hand towards the chair she had just vacated.
"Please, Guildmaster, don't let my rude interruption spoil this budding partnership," he said, his voice a smooth, silken purr that made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end. "We were just getting to the interesting part."
