Lilith's laugh was one note, but it was real, the kind of laugh that carried sharpness without cruelty, like a blade tapped against glass just to hear it ring.
"You are asking me to be well behaved," she said, and there was amusement in her voice, though the glint in her crimson eyes made it clear she wasn't promising anything.
The Matron smiled, small and unbothered, as though she had heard that line a hundred times already.
"I am asking you to be patient," she replied evenly, her tone soft but leaving no room for doubt. "You can misbehave after."
Elowen turned her head slightly toward the Ancestress, her silver-green eyes calm even in the half-light of the suspended arena.
"And you?" she asked simply, because she knew the older woman would never waste words on anything unnecessary.
The Ancestress didn't hesitate. Her answer was as simple and as heavy as the earth itself. "Listen."
