"What do you mean, 'nope'?"
The question came out calmly. The kind of calm that preceded natural disasters.
Blossom lunged forward with her ears pinned flat and her teeth bared, every protective instinct in her body firing at once. Vex was right behind her, already moving to grab Black Fang's shoulder and haul her off.
The killing intent rolling off the ancient killer's body pressed against her skin like heat from an open furnace, but despite all that, the Hexwitch reached forward without care for her own safety.
The maids moved too.
These were women who had just been given ageless life by the man currently pinned beneath a murderer. Three seconds ago, they'd been weeping with gratitude. Now Clarisse was advancing on a legendary assassin with the posture of a woman who fully intended to beat her with a serving tray if it came to that.
"Stop," Quinlan's voice cut through the courtyard. "It's okay."
