As Asher and Thalric's gazes met, the world around them seemed to fall still. Their eyes locked for several long, tense seconds, neither blinking nor breaking eye contact.
There was no open hostility flashing in their eyes, no visible hatred or malice, but anyone possessing even the faintest shred of intellect could sense an unspoken tension thrumming like a taut string between the two Suns of the Wargrave Household.
They exchanged no words. Yet, their silence carried more weight than any phrase or declaration that could have been uttered within the grand hall. It was a silence that roared louder than thunder and cut deeper than steel, echoing through the space like the toll of a distant bell.
As the striking black and purple eyes remained locked, it was Thalric who broke the standoff first. His gaze shifted, sharp and purposeful, toward the cluster of first-year students who were hastily dropping their unwelcome belongings into the basket provided.
