Elara looked at the furious, weeping, entirely unshakeable man standing before her, and for the first time that day, a microscopic, genuine smile touched the corner of the Empress Regent's lips.
Elara did not immediately respond to his explosive, territorial declaration.
Instead, she simply looked at him. She stood perfectly still behind her grand oak desk, her glass-bead eyes locked onto Julian's flushed, furious face. She stared at him for exactly twelve seconds, running a continuous, highly focused visual analysis of his posture, his micro-expressions, and the sheer audacity of his logic.
Julian, still breathing heavily from his rant about the imperial treasury, eventually shifted under the absolute weight of her unblinking gaze.
"What?" Julian snapped, crossing his arms defensively. "What the heck are you staring at me for?"
Elara tilted her head a fraction of an inch.
