Imagine the surprise when standing face to face with the greatest traitor to your clan and alliance.
Yet the person who stands before you was the one you suspected the least.
Shock. Amusement. Bitterness.
Several words could explain the burning pain and twisting ache in his stomach right now, but the man across was someone his father and grandfather completely trusted.
And that made it worse.
Nikolai didn't speak.
He watched the man, with narrowed eyes, drowning in the rain, cold droplets sliding down his cheeks and dripping to the ground. His coat clung to his frame, soaked through, cold, heavy — but none of that reached him.
The man before him had aged, but not poorly. White streaks now lined his dark hair, and he wore a tailored black field coat buttoned up to the neck. Military posture. Calm. Distant.
But not apologetic.
"I didn't expect you to come in person," the man said.
"I didn't expect to find you," Nikolai replied.
No accusations.
Not yet.
