Ravyn stared across the table at the man who had spoken up for Seraphine, and disbelief crawled through his chest like something alive that refused to settle. In all the years he had spent around humans, he had rarely seen one grow attached so quickly, yet this man had thrown himself into Seraphine's defense with a loyalty that looked almost reckless, as though the consequences of offending powerful people in this room meant nothing to him. Ravyn found it both irritating and ridiculous, because the man's chances of earning a place in their circle were already fragile, and defending Seraphine in front of everyone present had practically smashed those chances to pieces.
In Ravyn's mind, Seraphine deserved every ounce of pressure she felt tonight, because he had never forgiven the way she had treated Daisy, and the memory of Daisy's humiliation still burned inside him with a stubborn heat that refused to fade no matter how much time passed.
