On the other end of the call, Augustine felt a tight knot forming in his throat so suddenly that he had to cough several times before he could speak, the sound rough and strained as though the words he wanted to say had caught somewhere deep inside his chest and refused to move any further.
"Sera, what exactly are you doing with Voren?" he finally asked, his voice carrying a mixture of confusion and concern as he tried to understand why her name had suddenly become tied to the chairman of the Sovereign Circle.
Seraphine leaned back slightly in the chair across from Voren's desk, her posture relaxed and her expression composed in a way that suggested the chaos surrounding her no longer had the power to disturb her calm.
