Sharp, invisible daggers seemed to fly toward Aris from every direction.
"Rory, I'm sorry."
Vincent suddenly spoke, his tone heavy with self-reproach. "It's my fault. As your first partner, I should have known these so-called rules. I should have guided the others better."
The Firebird Clan had never had such customs.
And he truly hadn't known.
If he had, he would never have deliberately ignored them.
Yuel, Jasper, and even Xarion all lowered their heads in apparent guilt.
They hadn't known either.
Nix looked from Vincent to Aren, then back again, sensing something off about the atmosphere—but unable to pinpoint exactly what. In the end, he simply followed Vincent's lead and bowed his head too.
"Sorry, Rory," he murmured.
"Enough."
Rory pressed her fingers to her forehead. What a way to start the morning.
She turned to Vincent. "I'm not blaming you. And you definitely don't need to feel guilty."
She looked at all of them.
