My retreat ended abruptly as my spine met the vanity table's edge. Nowhere left to flee. "Stay back!" The command cracked like breaking glass, desperate rather than authoritative.

He halted mere inches away, close enough that I caught the scent of sandalwood and something indefinably ancient clinging to his clothes. His presence filled the space between us like a physical weight.

"Your rebellion," he breathed, voice like aged whiskey poured over velvet, "proves most... stimulating."

A cry ...