Serah paused.
The ancient woman's eyes narrowed, her gaze dropping from the Codex to the couple before her. She didn't stop, but the slight tightening of her jaw suggested she was well aware of the mutiny occurring at her altar.
Soren wasn't finished. The relief of her smile had emboldened him. "Does this mean you forgive me?" he breathed, his eyes searching the side of her face. "For the memorial? For asking if you were sure?"
Eris went quiet. The silence stretched for several heartbeats, long enough that the nobles in the front pews began to lean forward, their ears straining. Serah's patience was visibly evaporating, her staff tapping rhythmically against the ice floor.
"You should understand one thing about me, Soren," Eris said, her voice quiet but carrying the sharp edge of a blade. "No one can force me to do anything I do not want to do. Every choice I make is mine. I do not marry for obligation, and I do not stand here out of necessity."
