TAVRIC
I find myself wondering, with a flicker of something almost like dark amusement, whether the old ice king would truly stand by and let my father discard his daughter so casually, as though she were a line item in a treaty rather than a person.
As if reading the exact trajectory of my thoughts, my father leans back into his chair, waving a dismissive hand through the air like he's swatting away a fly.
"Yes. Sabian will have no choice but to agree to the cancellation. He'll fuss and storm, as he always does, but he understands the game better than most. He knows the ultimate prize here is the heart of the Dragon Alpha, and no one, not even him, walks away from that prize on principle."
Alastair pauses, his gaze sliding away from his wife and settling entirely on me, heavy and oppressive, searching for any crack in the armor I've spent my whole life building.
