Stone erupted upward between them. A flat wall of compressed rock slammed into place in the fraction of a second before the heel arrived.
The impact was deafening in the enclosed space. The tip of the boot punched clean through the wall and stopped — the point of her heel protruding through the stone, hovering a finger's width from his cheek.
Small chips of rock fell against his skin and scattered across his lap.
Lor did not move.
He looked at the heel through the hole it had made.
The polished black leather was still. A thin crack ran through the stone around the point of entry.
He could feel the residual heat of the impact on his face. Then he looked up at her face above the wall.
Aurora pulled her foot back cleanly.
She shook a fragment of stone from the tip of her boot with a small, precise motion. The boot returned to the floor with a soft click.
She remained seated on the stone throne as if nothing had happened. Her posture had not changed.
The floating coin moved.
