William's eyes widened in pure and utter shock as he saw Asher standing before him. He had seen him rise to his feet from his chair, he had seen Asher take a single step forward, yet that step alone had brought Asher directly before him. Still, he couldn't understand how a single, casual step could erase the distance between them so completely, as though space itself had folded obediently beneath Asher's will.
With a gentle and unhurried motion, Asher's right hand moved. His fingers curled naturally around Virelass' hilt as he drew the rapier from its sheath, the soft, hissing sound of steel sliding free filling the surrounding air. Asher's movements were slow, deliberate, almost lazy, yet paradoxically fast. William found that he couldn't move at all. His body refused to respond. Without missing a beat, Asher's rapier rose upward toward the sky, its silver edge gleaming faintly, then descended from above like a judge's gavel delivering an unavoidable verdict.
