Then she took a small breath.
"Can I speak with you alone for a moment?" she asked Dante, her tone polite but firm.
Dante's eyes met hers. A single cool nod.
"Of course."
Sable's little fists tightened in Georgia's dress. Lucien's eyebrows drew together in a worried line. Alina just stood there, twisting her fingers together, as Dante followed her aunt a few steps into the hallway.
They stopped near the end, where a window let in a soft square of afternoon light. It fell across Dante's face, making his green eyes look almost transparent.
Aunt Lyla turned to face him fully. She wrung her hands for a second before clasping them in front of her, like she was holding onto her own courage.
"I… I want to apologize properly," she began, her voice lower now, stripped of its earlier defensiveness. "And I need to say something to you honestly, Dante."
He didn't say anything. He just waited, perfectly still, for her to go on.
