"Only two?" Jett Westgate stood up, his voice lazy with deliberate flippancy. "I'll be more careful next time. I'll break a few more."
Annelise Valentine was so angry her breathing became ragged. She tried to move, and a wave of numb soreness immediately shot through her knee, making her hiss in pain. She instinctively clutched it.
Jett Westgate saw that the pain had drained the color from her face, yet she didn't make a sound. His eyes darkened slightly.
He strode into the ancestral hall in two steps, bent down, and swept her up into his arms.
Annelise Valentine went completely rigid in his embrace. As he carried her out, his voice drifted down from above her head.
"...You idiot."
Held in his arms, Annelise was tense all over. She wanted to struggle but had no strength, so she could only retort sullenly:
"Put me down. My family hasn't told me I can get up yet."
Jett Westgate didn't break stride. Instead, his arms tightened around her slightly as he glanced down at her.
