Leonidas, caught up in the flattery, completely missed the dynamic playing out across the table. "Ha! Two pieces?! I could snap a drawbridge in half, little spark! Boris is a strong lad, but he lacks the explosive kinetic energy of the Flame!"
Kaelus stared at the bowl of Star-peaches.
He looked at Seraphina's back.
He had spoken directly to her. He had offered her a highly prized resource, her favorite fruit.
And she had completely ignored him.
The cold panic in Kaelus's chest blossomed into a localized, internal blizzard of pure, unadulterated terror.
'She knows,' the realization hit him with the force of a physical blow to the stomach. 'She wasn't asleep or distracted. She is avoiding me clearly because she knows what I did. She knows I left her alone to fight in the frontlines.'
Kaelus's breath hitched.
He was prepared for yelling.
