Sevette moved first.
There was no warning, no surge of power that rippled outward, no dramatic sound. One moment she stood several steps away, her red eyes curved with amusement, and the next her figure simply thinned, stretched, and vanished like mist pulled apart by an unseen wind.
Cornelia's breath caught.
A soft chuckle brushed past her ear.
"So slow," Sevette whispered.
Cornelia spun her head instinctively, her cape flaring as she turned, but there was nothing there. The stone floor beneath her boots was empty, the torchlight steady, the air still. For half a heartbeat, confusion tightened around her chest.
Then Sevette appeared behind her.
Not fully, not solid. It was as if her body phased into existence mid-step, crimson afterimages trailing behind her shoulders. Her fingers brushed close to Cornelia's back, not striking, just close enough to make a point.
Cornelia reacted on instinct, elbow snapping backward, but it passed through empty air.
Sevette was gone again.
