The manor's upper hall was a blur of gold silk and violence.
Black gripped Sophia's wrist with the strength of a hydraulic press.
—and his expression, unchanged, even as she thrashed.
"Let. Me. Go," she hissed.
She wasn't just a saintess, she was still a cadet of the Imperial Soulforge Academy.
And she would act as one—
Sophia threw a lightning-fast punch toward his jaw, which Black caught effortlessly in his palm.
But she didn't pull back. Instead, she grabbed his shoulder, using it as a fulcrum to launch her entire body into the air.
She twisted mid-flight, her silk-clad leg whipping around to crack against his temple.
The force was enough to make his grip falter. Sophia landed light as a cat, immediately tearing the cumbersome golden skirt of her gown to mid-thigh.
Revealed beneath was her cadet-issued dagger, strapped to her leg—a blade she had intended for a very different kind of wedding night.
Black wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, his eyes darkening.
