Ragnora snapped out of her reverie, shaking her head as if to dispel the lingering emotions that had settled over her.
She didn't want to dwell on the past any longer. Not when it made her feel so vulnerable.
Straightening in her chair, she fixed Cassius with a keen, challenging look.
"Anyway." She said, her voice regaining its usual commanding tone. "Even though I'm genuinely surprised you've read so many romance novels, there are certain things you said earlier about the stories that I simply cannot accept, Sir Cassius"
Cassius raised an eyebrow, his competitive spirit immediately igniting.
"Oh? And what exactly did I say that was wrong?"
"Several things," Ragnora replied, already rising from her chair and moving toward the hidden bookshelf. "Your interpretations of certain characters, your analysis of particular plot points..."
She pulled out a book and held it up. "'The Crown of Winter Roses,' for example."
"What about it?"
