While Daniel and the priestess exchanged more words, Tessy's gaze drifted back to Saphira, who was still staring at her, this time with a look Tessy couldn't decipher. It wasn't hostility. But it wasn't warmth either. There was intensity in her stare, like she was analyzing Tessy, measuring something beneath her skin.
Tessy tried to dismiss it. Still, her discomfort grew.
Suddenly, a sound reached her ears. The creaking whisper of footsteps descending the grand staircase. She turned quickly, eyes snapping to the wide staircase just as Roman appeared, his tall figure emerging like a shadow from above.
His expression was unreadable at first, carved from stone and darker than usual. But the moment his eyes found her, everything changed.
A soft smile bloomed across his face, bright and familiar. The contrast was so jarring that Tessy's breath caught in her throat.
He looked like two different people at once.
