The silence that followed wasn't especially long, but it stretched like a thread about to snap.
Karmel had turned his head to the side, arms crossed, his expression caught somewhere between disdain and... sulking.
For someone who was supposedly above human emotion, he looked like a child who didn't get the last cookie.
Arlon didn't dare laugh.
He didn't even let his brain form the thought that he looks like a child. Because he knew. They'd hear it. Both of them.
He didn't need Karmel turning around with another I'm not reading your mind line, followed by a comment that proved he absolutely was.
So Arlon focused. Not on them. Not on the moment. Just on something neutral. Something boring.
Basic elemental theory. Right. Fire plus wind... equals...
But then he saw Agema.
She was staring at him. Not Karmel—him.
Her honey-colored eyes were glowing, soft, and vibrant like twin suns reflected on water.
