The door to Maelor's study opened without a knock.
Gavriel Sterling walked in like a man who had been holding himself together with duct tape and sarcasm for the last twenty minutes and had officially run out of both.
His eyes were red. Not the kind of red that came from being tired. The kind that came from seeing something that rewrote your understanding of what was possible, and none of the new information was good.
He locked onto Serena and moved.
"Frostborne," Gav said, voice rough, reaching for her. "Come here."
Fin's arms locked around Serena's waist before the words finished landing. He pulled her tighter against his chest, and for three full seconds, he did not let go.
Then he caught himself.
His arms loosened enough that Serena could stand.
