His eyes met Mira's across the hall. She inclined her head slightly, the barest acknowledgment, but in it, Soren read a shift in how she saw him.
Not warmth, not approval, but recognition of capability proven beyond question.
Without a word, he stepped around Rhett's body and walked toward the exit. The crowd parted before him, creating a path where moments before there had been none.
No one spoke. No one reached for a weapon. They simply watched him pass, reassessing everything they thought they knew about the quiet newcomer in their midst.
As he reached the doorway, Soren sensed rather than saw Sylas watching from a shadowed alcove.
The assassin leader had witnessed everything, of course, little happened in the sanctuary without his knowledge. He offered neither praise nor condemnation, merely observed the outcome with those calculating green eyes.
The message was clear to everyone present: Soren Thorne was no longer just a recruit.
