The three figures behind Lillith stepped into view, and my day, which had been steadily declining, officially leapt off a cliff.
The first one to catch my eye was the girl standing closest to her.
Tall. Long black hair flowing like it had bribed physics to let it move like that. Red eyes sharp enough to cut glass. Her face was a perfect blank slate, no irritation, no malice, no joy, but her eyes?
Her eyes screamed one very clear, very friendly message:
Come within five meters and I'll stab you. Twice.
Page Dea.
Of course.
She gave me the tiniest nod, the kind an assassin uses to acknowledge a fellow living creature before deciding whether or not to murder them.
I nodded back, maintaining eye contact for exactly one respectful second.
Internally, I marked a mental red circle around her and wrote DO NOT ENTER STABBY RADIUS in bold letters.
The second person was standing right next to her, the poor, doomed soul.
Xavier.
