Noah had just stepped out of his chamber with Atlas when the sharp crack of a door bursting open startled them both. Their eyes snapped toward the source of the noise. Out of the room stormed Arabella, her hair in disarray, her lashes clumped from tears she had stubbornly rubbed away.
She looked as though she was determined to hold herself together, determined not to let those tears fall even though her eyes were rimmed red.
Trailing after her was Cassius. The vampire king— usually untouchable, usually composed in that terrifying way that set others quaking— was anything but calm now. Desperation sharpened his voice as he called her name, his steps quick to catch her. Yet Arabella did not yield, her back stiff, her anger carrying her forward as though she could outrun the weight of his presence.
