Selene felt the pressure of the woman's gaze even from beyond the battlefield.
The palace courtyard was a blur of snow, firelight, and moving shadows below the shattered western windows, yet that single smile from the silver-haired woman outside seemed to cut through every layer of distance as though the night itself had narrowed to a point.
Those crimson eyes were aimed at her.
Not at Kael.
Not at Darius.
At her.
The realization sent a cold pulse through Selene's chest.
Kael tightened his arm around her immediately before she could shift from the impact, his hand steady at her back while dark pressure rolled outward from him in a controlled wave. The chamber responded at once. The loose papers on the council table fluttered. One of the broken window frames cracked further under the collision of forces pressing from inside and outside the hall.
"Selene," Kael said sharply.
His voice reached her like an anchor dragging her back to herself.
