Ethan's expression flickered, just briefly. Hurt. Frustration. And something else. Something darker.
Felix gently placed a hand on her arm, not as a claim but as reassurance. A grounding presence.
Ethan saw it.
And hated it.
"This isn’t over," he muttered.
Sophia gave him a long, measured look. "Then you’ve come to the wrong place. We don’t trade in shadows here."
She made no reply, but turning, walked away, until the wind caught the hem of her cloak and seemed to be bidding her to onward. Felix hesitated a little, his eyes evenly upon Ethan.
"You step lightly on my land, Ethan," he said. "But I hear the claws under your voice."
Ethan smiled without humor, it did not reach his eyes. Without bidding his farewell, he remounted his horse.
---
Back in his camp tent that night under t
