Chapter 324: Pale Steel and Quiet Revelations
Mary gave him a nod as she reached for the second box.
The wood creaked softly as she slid it closer to herself, fingers calloused and steady—the same hands that had shaped steel and bone and stubborn ideas into something usable. For a brief moment, she hesitated—not out of doubt, but out of a craftsman's habit of savoring the reveal. Then she flipped the lid open and turned the box around, pushing it across the desk toward Orion.
"Go on," she said. "Those are yours to look at."
Orion's smile widened the instant he saw inside.
Nestled within dark padding lay two shortswords, resting parallel to each other like matched thoughts. The first thing that struck him was the color. They were not the gray or darkened sheen of forged iron, nor the deep polish of steel. Instead, the blades were a soft, creamy white—pale but not dull, with a faint luster that caught the light slipping in through the small window high on the wall.
Skylur fangs.
