"His blood is the only reason his heart is still beating inside his chest," Kassian hissed, the words vibrating with a frequency that made the very air in the chamber feel heavy and pressurized. His blue eyes narrowed until they were two lethal slits of molten fire, the pupils swallowed by the incandescent intensity of his rage.
The silver-white resonance around his shoulders didn't just flare; it erupted into a jagged, coronated halo of light that scorched the oxygen from the room. The obsidian railing beneath his hands groaned as he leaned forward, looking down at the distant garden where Julian was invading a space that was never meant for him. "He's leaning into her space. He's looking at her like she's a prize to be won at a common fair. He thinks he can sample what belongs to the Sun, as if my fire wouldn't turn his very blood to steam."
