"Then they'll find out what happens when they corner someone under the Emberheart name."
Hearing that….
Sylvie couldn't help it.
The corner of her lips twitched, then lifted—just a little, but more than enough to soften the lines of worry still lingering in her expression. It wasn't a laugh, and it wasn't out of relief either. It was something quieter. Something steadier.
"…Thank you," she said.
Irina glanced sideways at her, surprised by the sincerity in Sylvie's voice. A beat passed.
Then—with a deliberate slowness, almost as if she wasn't sure what possessed her to do it—Irina raised her hand and gave Sylvie's head a quick, slightly awkward pat. Her fingers brushed lightly through her silvery hair, once, then withdrew before it became anything too sentimental.
She twitched the corner of her mouth—somewhere between a smirk and a shrug.
"Don't mention it," she said.
