The silence in the alcove was not peaceful. It was predatory.
Vane stood at the threshold. His boots were fixed to the obsidian floor. A shiver moved through him. It was a physical rejection of the reality in front of him.
The purple ribbon of mana in Nyx's hand stopped its geometric dance. Her eyes were deep vortices of violet and shadow. They locked onto his.
Vane's silver mana thrummed.
[Authority Active: Silver Fang]
A thin, frigid coat of energy manifested beneath his skin. It armored his organs against the pressure.
Nyx did not move from her velvet cushions. She watched him.
For a second, the Void Chambers disappeared. The floating crystals, the lake of liquid mana, the distant hum of the students. It all faded into a grey blur. There was only the girl in the shadows.
"The silver one," Nyx said.
Her voice was slow. Syrupy. It dripped with a boredom heavy enough to drown in.
