For a second that stretched into an eternity, Evangeline stood entirely frozen beneath his touch.
The raw intensity in Silver's icy-blue eyes was unlike anything she had ever seen in him. The theatrical jesting, the dramatic bows, the razor-sharp irony—all of it had melted away, leaving behind a creature exposed, dangerous, and completely undisguised.
She swallowed hard, her crimson eyes flickering as she tried to reconstruct her royal armor. She offered a small, dismissive tilt of her head, forcing a dry, cool breath past her lips.
"Ah... well, it is only natural for you to love me," she murmured, her voice laced with a faint, defensive bravado. "You are my loyal jester, after all."
Silver didn't smile. He didn't drop his hands.
Instead, his arms tightened around her waist with a sudden, unyielding force, pulling her body flush against his chest until she could feel the heavy, frantic thudding of his heart through his coat.
