I parted my lips to continue my conversation. I was a simple breath away from asking Valerius something.
A question that had been sitting on my tongue for minutes when the air around us shifted. It wasn't a dramatic shift, no sudden thunderclap or gasp. It was quieter than that, more dangerous. It felt like a predator just sensed another predator.
My words dried up in my mouth.
Only one person in this house could make Valerius's presence feel smaller just by existing.
Zetheal.
I saw her before he did. Her calm stride, cold eyes, and her long hair swaying like she owned the ground she walked on. She wasn't angry. That was what made her more terrifying. Zetheal didn't need anger. She was made of steel, and stitched with ice.
Valerius must have noticed how still I'd become because his voice brushed my ear, low and sharp.
"What is it?"
He followed the direction of my gaze when I said nothing, and the instant he saw her, his expression hardened.
