The second outing together wasn't supposed to feel like a battlefield, but Tess could already sense the tension waiting for her before they even stepped beyond the walls of Primus. Her white hair and pale eyes had always been a curse. People stared. They always stared.
Still, she tied her hair into a sharp ponytail—mission neat, though she let a few strands fall at the sides of her face. She wanted it visible, unmistakable, a challenge in itself.
Around her neck hung the crest, gleaming against her throat like an accusation. If they were going out again, she wasn't going to shrink into the shadows or pretend. Better they all looked. Better she showed them she wasn't hiding.
