"I know you killed the Beast Sovereign."
The sentence didn't land like something incertain.
It landed like something absolute.
For a second, Elin didn't react at all. Not a flinch, not a blink, not even the faint twitch Raizen had started to recognize as her warning sign. She just stood there, frozen in the warm lantern light.
Then her breath cut, and her always-calm mask slipped.
Elin took a step back so fast her heel left a small mark on the wooden floor. Her eyes went wide - not with anger, not with irritation, not with that lazy arrogance she wore like armor.
With fear.
Real fear.
Her mouth opened as if to speak, but nothing came out. Her chest rose quickly, too quickly, like the air wasn't enough for her.
The lantern flames trembled. Not much - just enough to make the light stutter across the frames on the wall. A few photos rattled softly, the tiny metal brackets tapping against wood like nervous teeth.
Raizen saw her hands, too.
