Violet’s POV
I didn’t know what possessed me to storm into the room. Maybe it was instinct. Or was it the way those wrinkled, arrogant elders referred to me that set my fury ablaze?
I had decided to bury my pride and ask Xaden to accompany me to the stable so I could begin my riding lessons. But this?
They all turned toward me, startled, as though I was not supposed to exist in the same air they breathed. Xaden’s shoulders stiffened. His mouth parted slightly-- caught. His usually unreadable expression faltered for a flicker of a second before he masked it again.
I crossed the threshold and slammed the heavy oak door shut behind me. The sound echoed like thunder.
"What girl?" I asked, coldly. My gaze landed on the elder who had dared to call me ‘that brat.’ “Say it again.”
The elder
