Chapter 13

• Zeva’s POV
• The chamber was colder than usual, the stone floor slick with the faint chill of early morning. I stepped inside as ordered, the echo of my boots loud in the silence. Aric was already there, his posture a rigid silhouette against the dim torchlight. He didn’t greet me. He didn’t even glance in my direction immediately.
• Roxie’s warning had preceded me: disobedience. The catch in her voice had been almost triumphant. I swallowed the spike of anger, forcing myself to breathe evenly, and kept my gaze forward. I would not show fear. Not now. Not ever, in front of him.