"Lady Sees."
Ruby's voice was smooth, pleasant. It was the perfectly calibrated tone of one dignitary greeting another. She approached Cecilia with the easy grace of someone who had every right to be there, every right to initiate conversation, every right to probe and question and discover.
This was social function, after all. This was normal.
To the casual observer, it was nothing. Two powerful women, acknowledging each other. Perhaps rivals, perhaps allies-in-the-making, but certainly nothing more than the usual dance of politics and personality.
But Rinne, standing at the dessert table with a plate of pastries forgotten in his small hands, knew. His eyes, sharp and watchful despite his youth, tracked every movement, every micro-expression.
Across the hall, Hettor's golden gaze had shifted from the departing Wolf King to this new confrontation. The Jaguar Chief's posture remained relaxed, but his attention was absolute, disguised as casual interest.
