Kauss enters like the storm finally found a body.
Every person in the restaurant freezes.
He is soaked from rain, obsidiobn scales gleaming under gold light, eyes fixed on me with such naked terror and fury that my chest caves inward. He sees the red mark on my face. The bruise forming on my arm. My blood at the corner of my mouth.
The restaurant disappears for him.
I see it happen.
Lenrog vanishes from importance. Ron becomes a threat-shaped blur. The guards become obstacles. There is only me and the damage on me.
“Evie,” Kauss says.
Just my name.
It breaks something open inside me.
“I’m okay,” I say immediately.
He does not believe me.
Of course he does not.
Ron turns, wild triumph flashing across his face. “There he is.”
Kauss moves toward him.
Lenrog’s guards reach for weapons.
“Do not,” Lenrog says sharply.
The guards freeze.
Kauss stops two paces from Ron. His hands are open at his sides, but I can see the effort in that openness. He is holding back violence with every muscle in his body.
Ron smiles through his swelling nose and ruined pride. “You going to kill me in Daddy’s restaurant?”
Kauss’s voice is almost too quiet to hear. “Did you hurt her?”
Ron spreads his arms. “She talks a lot.”
Kauss takes one step closer.
The temperature of the room seems to drop.
I move before anyone else can. I step between them, not because I think I can physically stop Kauss if he breaks, but because he sees me. Because my body in his path means something no guard can mean.
“Kauss,” I say.
His eyes drop to mine instantly.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
His breath shakes.
I have never seen him like this. Not in the alley. Not after the bakery. Not even in the police cell. This is fear wearing rage as armor. This is love before either of us has said the word.
His hand lifts toward my cheek, then stops before touching the mark Ron left. “He struck you.”
