Bianca ignored the warning. The sting of Ophelia's betrayal was still too fresh, the need to exert some form of power too great. She was reckless now, fueled by the dangerous high of a cornered coward.
"You know, Eris," Bianca continued, her tone conversational, almost light. "I've been thinking. If I can't destroy you directly... if your dragon and your fire make you so untouchable... perhaps I should rethink my strategy."
She paused, her eyes locking onto Rael's small, shaking form. "Perhaps I should destroy what you love instead. It's a much more… permanent form of ruin."
She gestured with a flick of her wrist toward the boy. "Starting with him. After all, children are so… fragile." She let the word hang in the air, a monstrous thing. "One little slip. One little spark. And the legacy of Solmire ends before it can even walk."
The air in the corridor didn't just heat up; it died.
