The silence did not last long.
From outside the room, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, punctuated by the rhythmic tap of a crystal staff hitting the marble floor. Those sounds were followed by two other sets of footsteps—one light and graceful, the other flat and expressionless.
Elvari straightened her back. Her measured smile returned instantly, as if the preceding silence had never occurred.
"Ah," she said softly. "They have returned."
Elara gripped Rianor's hand even tighter. Her body began to tremble. Rianor felt it—a subtle tremor he had known since the first time he saw her in the hospital. It was a fear that couldn't be articulated in words.
He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Slowly. Repeatedly.
The doors to the drawing room swung open.
Adrian Velmora was the first to stride in.
