-Aurelian Salvatore:
Sebastian's anger did not cool when Elias finally slept. It sharpened.
I felt it in the room like another presence breathing between us. I brushed one last kiss into Elias's hair and straightened slowly, careful not to disturb him. The oath still pulsed faintly beneath my skin, a warm, permanent reminder that I was not allowed to run again.
When I looked at Sebastian, he hadn't moved from the doorway. His shoulders were rigid, jaw tight, eyes dark in a way that had nothing to do with lighting. He wasn't shouting anymore. He wasn't pacing.
He was waiting.
I stepped away from the bed and walked toward him slowly, deliberately, like approaching a wounded animal. Or dangerous. Or both. I knew better than to rush him.
He watched me like prey.
Not frightened prey.
Measured prey.
