The confrontation had been building for days, pressure accumulating like a storm waiting to break. Selena felt it through their link—Dante's growing frustration, his conviction crystallizing into something she both understood and feared. And he felt her resistance, her determination to hold the line they had drawn, her refusal to compromise on the principles they had burned the world to establish.
It finally erupted on the seventh day after the shades had accepted her offer of stewardship.
They were walking the ash shores, discussing how to address the Hollow's continued expansion, when Dante stopped abruptly and turned to face her. Through their link, Selena felt his decision to finally voice what he had been holding back, and she braced herself for what was coming.
