As Vael opened the door, Vessara's fingers tightened instinctively around his, and she felt the subtle shift in his grip as he responded to the pressure.
Susan and Mia sat on the couch, their heads turning in unison as the door clicked shut behind them. Susan had her hands folded in her lap, but her fingers were interlaced so tightly. Mia had been mid-sentence when they entered, her mouth still slightly open and her hand frozen in the air where she'd been gesturing about something.
Then their eyes moved. First to Vessara's face: a quick assessment, the kind that measured and cataloged in the span of a heartbeat. Then down to where her hand was clasped in Vael's. Then back up to Vael himself, as if confirming what they'd just seen.
Mia's expression shifted first. Her lips curved upward, slow and deliberate, like she'd just discovered something precious and was trying not to scare it away. "Well," she said, drawing the word out until it had three syllables. "This is unexpected."
