It took him a long while to find his voice. "You... know how to fight?"
Seraphina finally laughed. "Yes. I had training when I was younger." The light in her eyes dimmed as she peeled the gauze from her hands, her voice dropping low. "Then I met Damien. He told me I'd never need to protect myself again, that he would do it for me. And little by little, I forgot that I was capable of protecting myself.
"When I was a child, my father used to beat my mother. She sent me away to learn self-defense techniques so that one day I'd be able to defend myself." Her smile turned strained. "Later, I became the wife of an heir, drowning in etiquette and rules until I forgot how to fight back. I became a trophy wife in a wealthy household."
The smile slipped away entirely. Ten years of marriage had ta
