The silence in the back row was absolutely suffocating.
Ariana didn't yell. She didn't cause a scene. She simply rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head, and offered me a smile so terrifyingly sweet it made the fine hairs on my arms stand straight up.
"Lucien," Ariana whispered, her voice like spun silk wrapped tightly around a razor blade. "Care to explain?"
"It's really not what it sounded like," I started, keeping my voice in a low, desperate whisper. "It was a massive coincidence."
"A coincidence," she repeated, her smile never reaching her violet eyes. "You told me you were going to stay at the Ashborne estate. You promised me you would rest your mana circuits after the ruins. But instead, you went to the Northern Borders? The absolute most dangerous, monster-infested wasteland in the entire Empire? And you were there with her?"
