Fuyu sat on the edge of the pallet, his arms wrapped around Lara. She was trembling, her breath coming in ragged, hitching sobs that dampened the fabric of his tunic. He stroked her hair with a rhythmic, mechanical motion, his mind busy calculating the structural damage to their family's delicate hierarchy.
The door creaked open, admitting a sliver of light and the sharp, mocking silhouette of Katty. She leaned against the doorframe, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of voyeuristic delight and calculated mischief.
"Oh, so romantic. Isn't it?" Katty's voice was like silk sliding over a blade. She walked toward them, her gaze lingering on the red welt on Lara's cheek.
Fuyu didn't pull away, but he did shift his focus. The internal map of his twenty-two opened veins pulsed with a cold energy, keeping his emotions flat and analytical.
"You came at the right time, Katty," he said, his voice a calm, masculine rumble. "Stay here. Comfort her. I'm going to see Mother."
