"Are you having a good trip, Count Rubenhart?"
Ulrich held the stranger's gaze without a word. The fire behind him cast a low red sheen across his eyes, turning their natural color darker, deeper, until they appeared almost black at the edges.
The man remained smiling beneath that stare.
"My apologies," he said. "I failed to introduce myself when we met at the ballroom." He placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly. "Valdris Nedomian. War-Mage Commander in service to the Valmorian Empire."
"Valmoris," Ulrich said, narrowing his eyes.
