Alaric stayed completely still after I spoke the names.
The silence stretched. Blood still seeped slowly between my fingers where I held the cut on my arm. The dead assassin lay a few feet away. Guards moved in the corridor outside, their voices low and urgent. None of that seemed to reach him.
I watched his face. Something had locked behind his eyes the moment the names left my mouth.
“Alaric.”
He did not answer.
“Why did you go still like that?” My voice came out tighter than I meant. “You asked for the names. I gave them. Now you’re looking at me like I just said something impossible.”
He drew a slow breath and finally met my gaze. “Not here.”
“What do you mean, not here?”
“This room is not secure enough for the conversation you want.” He stood and turned toward the door. “The h
