The champagne glass slipped from Delphine's fingers, shattering on the balcony floor like a thousand tiny stars. The sound was swallowed by the unnatural silence Gregoris had created around them. "Please," she whispered, her voice cracking as she finally dropped all pretense. "I'm Rafael's mother. Think of Layle too, his children need their grandmother."
Gregoris didn't even blink at the mention of her other son. He had wasted enough time listening to her manipulations. "Rafael doesn't need a mother," he said, his voice flat and emotionless. "Not one like you."
Before Delphine could form another desperate plea, Gregoris moved. With a flick of his wrist, a blade of pure ether materialized in his hand, shimmering with a cold blue light that seemed to drink in the moonlight. One moment he was leaning against the rail; the next he was before her. The ethereal edge kissed her throat.
