I sat there in frozen silence for a few long seconds, the noisy background chatter of the grand dining hall fading into an indistinct, distant buzz. My mind worked at hyper-speed, running diagnostics through every recent memory log I possessed.
Dating? Since when? How?
I slowly turned my head to look at Emma. She was still leaning against my shoulder, her smile bright and completely serene.
"Emma..." I started, keeping my voice low, steady, and carefully neutral. "How... long have we been dating, exactly?"
The air around our table instantly plummeted in temperature.
The soft, gentle smile on Emma's face didn't fade, it froze. Her hazel eyes slowly drifted upward to meet mine, the warm luster in them vanishing entirely, replaced by a flat, deadpan stare that sent a cold prickle down my spine.
"Just what..." Emma murmured, her voice dropping an octave into a smooth, icy whisper, "...did you just say?"
A blaring red alert practically flashed behind my mind.
Shit.
