Voren drew in a slow breath before he finally broke the heavy silence that had settled over the room.
"First of all, when I thanked you earlier, you never once asked me why."
His eyes settled on Ravyn, calm yet completely unwavering. "It was because of Sera."
Confusion spread through the gathering like a wave, but nobody interrupted him.
"You were the one who introduced me to her in the first place. From the moment we met, my entire life changed. I fell in love with her when I was sixteen years old. She was just ten."
The confession landed like a bomb in the middle of the crowd. Gasps rippled through the guests as stunned faces turned from Voren over to Seraphine.
A lot of people there had secretly believed Seraphine had somehow charmed or manipulated Voren into falling for her. Now they were realizing just how wrong that idea had been.
