Evangeline locked her gaze with his, her expression freezing into a wall of pure, imperial ice. "Silver... did you just force my head around without my permission?"
Silver rolled his eyes with a flash of raw, heavy impatience. "Are you truly going to deflect my question with another question, Your Majesty? Regardless, I am sorry, my Queen, but this..." His voice dropped into a low, rumbling rasp. "...is something I simply cannot tolerate."
Evangeline turned her head away from him, her jaw tightening in silent defiance. Behind her, Silver lowered his hand, his long fingers trailing lightly, almost painfully, over the jagged valleys of the scars.
"Is this truly something worth hiding from me?" he pleaded, a rare, breaking vulnerability cracking through his monstrous veneer. "Please, tell me. This... it is killing me."
A cold, mocking laugh escaped her lips. "Even if I told you, Silver... what would it change?"
