"And what is that?" Corven replied with practiced grace, keeping his tone light but his posture alert. He had no choice but to project confidence—any hesitation here could be used against him.
"Simple. Where do you come from, then?" the Baroness asked, her voice casual but her eyes sharp, dissecting him piece by piece. "While my territory may be more isolated than most, that hardly explains why a high-ranking vampire would wander in unannounced, does it?"
Her gaze lowered briefly, inspecting his stance, his breathing, the tension in his shoulders—looking for any cracks in his composure.
A battle of bluffing.
But Corven wasn't new to this kind of game. Living as a broke archaeologist meant getting comfortable with deceit—faking permits, bluffing your way past guards, sneaking into ancient ruins under false names. He'd lied to survive, and now, survival was once again on the line.
