The moment I stepped through the doors of the mansion, I knew I’d been caught. The air was heavy — too still. The kind of silence that came before a storm. Varion stood by the grand staircase, arms folded, his eyes burning beneath the dim light. He didn’t say a word at first. Didn’t need to. The fury in his gaze was louder than anything.
“Where,” he said finally, his voice low and cold,
“Have you been?”
I froze halfway across the marble floor. My boots were still dusted with dirt from the forest — proof enough.
“I went outside,” I said.
“I have been trapped inside this house for days, Varion—”
His growl sliced through my words.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying!”
“You were outside the wards,” he snapped.
“Jax couldn’t find your scent anywhere near the house. You disobeyed me.
