Aveline stepped inside, unaware of the small test Kael had set in place.
To her, the entrance felt ordinary. There was no push and no pull. There were no strange resistance or any prickly feeling.
Just the quiet stillness of a mansion waiting to be entered.
Her heart did beat a little fast as she was anxious of coming to a place that she was not familiar with. She looked around with nervousness and in unfamiliarity.
Behind her, Kael's attention remained fixed on the runes their family mansion had for all the centuries it had stood in this city, for their protection.
The markings flickered once as Aveline crossed the threshold.
First, they glowed softly, as though recognizing someone familiar.
Then… the light shifted. It stuttered.
The runes reacted as if they no longer recognized her, turning sharp and hostile in a way that would have signaled an outsider.
Kael's brows drew together.
That was not what he had expected.
