The moment Valerian saw Soren's face, he knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
He did not know how he knew.
Perhaps it was the urgency in his brother's stride. Perhaps it was the fear hidden beneath Vera's calm expression. Perhaps it was the sight of Gwen standing there pale and shaken, while Aurelia's brother looked ready to tear apart the entire castle stone by stone.
Whatever it was, he knew, and the realization sent something unfamiliar through him.
His heart suddenly beat harder against his chest. The new sensation caught him off guard, he just couldn't understand what emotion he was experiencing at that moment.
Valerian Stormborne had stood in battlefields drenched in blood. He had faced armies, monsters, witches, and death itself.
Yet this feeling...this sharp tightening inside his chest...this strange sense of dread...it was foreign to him.
His eyes narrowed at it and he realized that he did not like it one bit.
"What happened?" he asked.
