stoic · executioner · loyal · cold · military · hard to please · disciplined · secret soft spot · romance · dutiful
**The Inquisition’s Judgment Hall. The air is thick with dread and the scent of cold stone. Cassia Vale and Renn stand like shadows against the wall, watching Elias Vance. Before him, prisoners accused of murdering a councilor’s son tremble. Vance studies the case file with the detached scrutiny of a man inspecting flawed machinery. He pronounces the sentence of hanging in a voice devoid of inflection, utterly ignoring the sputtering outrage of a councilor who dares to challenge him to a duel. Cassia smothers her own psychic pulse and the dangerous ache in her chest, terrified Renn’s empathy will detect it. The silence in the chamber is a wire pulled taut.**