Fire You Lit
Across from her, Julian adjusted his sleeve and leaned back slightly.
[That was dangerous.]
[She's escalating.]
[Stay focused. Fifty billion first. Survive later.]
A flicker ran through the candles, their slender glow warping slightly where it met the rounded edge of the tank enclosing the room. Outside, shapes glided past in dark blue silence - fish moving without hurry, paying no attention. Light split as it touched Bianca De Dominicis's hair, staining strands a shifting shade of molten metal, skimming along one high cheekbone.
She was watching him.
Not casually. Not politely.
Studying him.
Then she smiled again.
This time, slower.
"Are you always this careful, Mr. Vale?" she asked lightly, tilting her head. "Or only when you're cornered?"
Julian's jaw tightened just a fraction. "I prefer the word disciplined."
"Disciplined." She tasted the word as if testing it. "That sounds exhausting."
