---
Chaos surged around his arm and hand, not flaring outward wastefully, but compressing inward until his fist seemed wrapped in a dark bright mass of controlled power. The ground under his lead foot cracked slightly as he set himself.
The whole camp held its breath.
The black armored lizard lifted higher.
The white griffin-like birds went silent enough to feel unnatural.
Bat Bat was biting her own knuckle to keep from shouting something probably brilliant and disastrous.
Kess had stopped breathing altogether.
Elena's hand had not moved visibly toward a weapon because Elena did not require visible weapons to change a night. But the three rank-three maids beside her had gone from composed to coiled. Not interfering. Not yet. But one more second and even the air around them seemed poised to cut.
Sekhmet charged.
Mihos charged too.
No more testing. No more measured exchange.
