Sylene froze. Mavis—gentle, quiet Mavis—now stood feral, emerald eyes blazing in the moonlight. Claws bared. Fur bristling, sharp and furious, as he faced the arbiter head-on.
Zirron stepped back, startled.
"You dare touch my brother?!" the fox hissed, voice sharp and full of rage. "He didn't kidnap me—he's my savior!"
That look in Mavis's eyes—disappointment and fury—pierced through the arbiter's arrogant mask.
"He's the one who freed me from that hell, not you! I was locked in a cage, ready to be sold to that pig—and Sylene helped me avenge him! If he hadn't been there, I'd be in that man's bed by now—or stuffed and displayed like my mother!"
Sylene didn't need to imagine how rare it was for Mavis to scream like this. The shock on Zirron's face said everything.
