The silence after her last word didn't break immediately. It stretched, subtle but heavy, as if both sides understood that whatever came next would define more than just a single encounter. This wasn't about a fight. It was about position—about who controlled the situation and who reacted to it.
Adrian didn't move.
He didn't rush to respond, didn't try to push further. He simply stood there, his presence steady, his gaze unwavering. The field around him remained quiet, but it was no longer something that needed to prove itself. It existed. That alone was enough.
The woman in front of him noticed it.
Not the surface.
Not the visible.
But the intent behind it.
"You're not unstable," she said after a moment, her voice quieter now, more thoughtful. "That's unexpected."
Adrian tilted his head slightly. "You were hoping I was?"
Her lips curved just faintly. "It would have made things simpler."
There it was.
Not hostility.
Practicality.
