The heavy gates slammed shut with a final, echoing boom, sealing out the unwelcome visitors.
Violet remained standing in place, her face unreadable, but her fingers twitched slightly at her sides. She had no illusions about what had just happened—their so-called warning was nothing but a thinly veiled threat. They would return, and next time, it wouldn't be with words.
To her right, Henry stood with a rigid posture, his muscles coiled tight beneath his uniform. Though he was one of the most composed men she knew, there was just enough distance between them to suggest he was ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Not out of cowardice, but survival instinct.
To her left, Uva was even farther away, her arms wrapped around herself, her gaze flickering between Cain's beast and Violet as she recalled the broken remains of the doorway. If she moved any farther away, she might as well have been standing on the other side of the huge carpark.
