The iron bolt on the door might as well have laughed at him.
Locking the door did absolutely nothing when Soren had been carrying the master's spare keys for who knows how long.
Tch. Amateur mistake. He should have shoved a heavy wardrobe against the frame, or better yet, ran to Zarius's side in the first place. But regret wasn't helpful when you were sharing oxygen with a man who looked like his sanity had just logged out without warning.
Soren stood perfectly still in the firelight.
"I thought you'd been kicked out," Cherion said, trying to sound calm even though his heart was doing cardio. He kept his hands flat on the desk, feeling the cold wood like a lifeline. "Flio made it sound pretty clear. So… unless you're here to drop off your uniform, I honestly don't see what you're doing here."
Soren didn't flinch. Didn't growl. He just leaned forward, bowing so slowly it looked like he'd rehearsed it for a wedding. Cherion's skin crawled.
