[WARNING! Unedited! Don't buy!]
The morning light cut through the curtains of the rented inn room, pale gold streaks illuminating the wooden floorboards. Selis awoke first, her senses still alert despite the exhaustion. Her body was sore from the previous night's activities—not just the long hunt through the city's darker corners but from the tension she carried within herself.
Lucian.
The memory of his face when she had leaned close to whisper in his ear last night lingered, infuriatingly vivid. His reaction had been subtle—almost imperceptible to the others—but she'd seen it. The brief tightening of his jaw, the faint hitch of his breath, and then… nothing. He'd schooled his features back into that same cool detachment he always wore.
It had thrilled and irritated her in equal measure.
