Steel was singing, almost literally, in the corridor. The kind of song that hurts the ears more than it stirs the heart. Sparks jumped across the flagstones, skittering and dying in flashes that made the carved walls seem alive for half-seconds at a time.
Gideon swung hard—too hard maybe—and drove one attacker stumbling back. A savage strike, but he left his flank open, and another came in fast. I thought he’d be cut down right there but Wren slipped between like… like smoke that decided it wanted to be sharp. Her dagger found the sliver between plates and slid in clean, and then the floor was darker.
And still—the masked figure just stood. At the far end. Watching. Not moving, not breathing—or maybe breathing, but slow enough I couldn’t see it.
Arabella’s eyes lingered too long on him.
