Seraphina stared at the door long after Astron had left, her silver eyes locked on the space he had occupied mere moments ago. The frost on the table remained, a stark reminder of her frustration. Her fingers tapped against its icy surface in a rhythm she didn't even notice, her thoughts churning as she tried to piece together what had just transpired.
'Did he… just reject me?'
The thought was sharp, cutting, as if it didn't belong in the same realm as her reality. Seraphina Frostborne, heir to one of the most powerful mage families, had just been defied outright.
Her silver eyes narrowed, her tapping fingers stilling as her mind replayed the encounter in vivid detail. His calm demeanor, his unflinching gaze, the way he had dismissed her frost as if it were no more than a passing chill—all of it clashed with her understanding of people.
'Doesn't he care about Irina? Doesn't he realize the consequences of his refusal?'