"What?"
Being talked back to by a servant was something Valters had never endured, and it made him snap. His face twisted as he raised his hand, towering over her. "Did you just say that, you little slut?"
"Lord Hades wouldn't be happy to hear what you've just said, sir," Evangeline answered, her voice steady despite the way his shadow swallowed her whole. She refused to step back. She knew that the moment fear showed on her face, he would seize it and crush her with it.
"Lord Hades?"
Valters's brow twitched.
"If that's a lie—"
"It isn't."
Lady Cerdery's voice slid smoothly into the room. She wore a wide smile over her maroon lips as she looked down at Valters, who now appeared comically smaller beside her. "This woman may be a servant," she said lightly, "but she isn't your servant. She belongs to the Lord."
