You always did.How long had they known each other? What history lived in that casual use of his name, in the way Seraphina's eyes swept over him like she knew exactly what was underneath that controlled exterior?
Her nails pressed harder into her palms.
Beside her, Dante's gloved hand twitched. Once. The barest movement. If she hadn't been watching—if she hadn't been so pathetically aware of his every movement—she would have missed it.
But she was. And she didn't.
She wondered if Seraphina had made that hand twitch for different reasons, once.
The thought burned more than it should have.
Seraphina moved closer, and Brynn had to actively fight the urge to step back. Every instinct screamed at her to maintain distance, to not let this woman into her space.
But retreating would be weakness. And weakness here meant blood.
"A mortal." Seraphina circled them slowly, examining Brynn from different angles like she was evaluating a weapon. "Who thinks she understands forces that predate her species by millennia." Her eyes raked over Brynn with cold appraisal. "Tell me, little thief. What qualifies you to judge my wards?"
The question was a trap. Answer too confidently, and she'd be arrogant. Too humbly, and she'd confirm Seraphina's verdict that she was worthless.
Brynn met her gaze directly, forcing herself not to look away even though those eyes made her skin crawl. "I read patterns. Ward magic has patterns."
"Patterns." Seraphina's smile widened, showing teeth. "How delightfully simple." She stopped circling, standing close enough that Brynn could see the individual scars on her arms. Dozens of them,maybe hundreds. Each one a story written in violence. "And if I asked you to demonstrate this pattern-reading on my person, would you see anything interesting?"
The threat was subtle but unmistakable.
Brynn's fingers twitched at her sides. She was standing within arm's reach of a Death Lord who could end her before Dante's shadows crossed the distance.
The shadows at her ankles tightened.
"We all have documented failures in our courts now." Dante's voice cut through the tension, drawing Seraphina's attention away. "We're trying to understand what's happening and whether the incidents are connected."
He shifted as he spoke, positioning himself between them. Subtle enough to look casual. Deliberate enough that Brynn felt the wall of cold air that always surrounded him brush against her arm.
His hand grazed hers as he moved. Gloved fingers against her bare wrist. Brief. Barely there.
Stay calm. I'm here.
She couldn't possibly know that's what it meant. Could be accidental. Could be nothing.
Her heart stuttered anyway.
She shouldn't have noticed. Shouldn't have felt her shoulders drop a fraction as his shadow fell across her.
The pressure eased just enough for her to breathe.
"Connected." Seraphina's focus shifted entirely to Dante now. "You think the failures aren't random?"
Brynn watched her face. Was that surprise? Concern? Or was she asking because she already knew the answer?
But she also watched the way Seraphina looked at him. The assessment in those eyes. The familiarity.
She hated that she noticed. Hated that she cared.
"That's what we're trying to determine." Dante's shadows spread across the floor, slow and deliberate. "Which is why we need access to your ward-stones. To document the damage and compare it to what we've found elsewhere."
Seraphina studied him for a long moment. Her gaze moved fromDante to the shadows pooling at his feet, then slid to where those shadows curled around Brynn's boots.
Amusement flickered in her expression.
