"Why don't they?" Emily shot back, a fresh wave of indignation washing over her. "Why wouldn't they believe me? I'm the victim here!"
Caelan paused in the middle of unbuckling a worn leather satchel from his shoulder. He looked at her, a long, considering look in his amber eyes. The usual reckless smirk was gone, replaced by a shrewd, almost pitying expression that was infinitely more insulting.
"Because you're an outsider," he said, his voice flat, devoid of its usual playful lilt. "A nobody. You have no name, no family, no history in this city, in this kingdom. You walked in here yesterday, green-haired and purple-eyed, a creature out of a child's nightmare." He took a step closer, his presence suddenly intimidating, the air around him crackling with a dangerous energy. "And then a priceless artifact vanishes from the Athenaeum's most secure vault, a place no one has breached in a thousand years. A vault that only opened for two people."
