Chapter 8 Falcon Traitor

• The ornate, snarling whispers of the baronial families ceased the moment Xandros and I stepped through the enormous door of the ballroom.
• This was the cold, oppressive corridor of my childhood and youth, where I once feared even to breathe. Now, as I walked through these corridors, the shadow of the most ruthless man in the underworld loomed behind me, and everyone in the hall recoiled, sensing the murderous coldness in Xandros's amber eyes.
• Xandros wrapped his arm around my skin, pulling me closer. The scent of tobacco and gunpowder on his skin spread like poison amidst the expensive perfumes and jasmine fragrances. He glanced at the long tables in the corner of the hall; the contemptuous, mocking expression on his face never faded.