There was silence in the hall now, the alphas caught in the charged tension between mother and daughter. Even their food lay untouched now, well, except Roman's.
He tried to set his spoon down gently, only for it to slip and clatter against the floor.
Every head snapped toward him.
Roman froze, then gave a sheepish laugh. "Uh—excuse me."
He bent to retrieve it, his chair scraping loudly across the floor.
The noise was so painfully out of place that even he winced. When he straightened, a Fae servant had already materialized beside him like a ghost, nearly making him jump.
The servant took the fallen spoon and placed a clean one in front of him before gliding away.
Roman looked around, his cheeks slightly pink. "Please—go on. Don't stop because of me."
Alaric shook his head in disbelief while Griffin blew out a slow breath, and Asher had his signature perpetual scowl on his face.
But the tension had eased just enough.
