Heka reached the man and appeared a thousand times bigger than him, as he began to sweat and lightly tremble.
The transformation was not physical, but it was no less real.
Her presence seemed to expand, filling the space around her with an oppressive weight that pressed down on everyone in the vicinity.
Octavius, who had been so confident moments before, now looked like a small child facing an angry parent.
His bravado had evaporated, replaced by fear that he could not hide no matter how hard he tried.
The sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his temples and into his eyes, but he did not dare to wipe it away.
"If you want to mess my little girl up, you will have to go through me as well, violently," Heka squinted, her deep feminine voice the only thing resounding in the hall.
The words echoed off the walls, with a weight that silenced every whisper. "I will let you do the honors, in fact."
She pulled his own sword from the sheath on his waist, and handed it to him.
