Cassian's footsteps thundered from the hallway long before he reached the study.
When he reached the door, he did not enter with the polished grace he had once displayed before Hadrian and the royal family during his time at the palace. Instead, he assaulted the wood with a violent strike of his boot.
BANG!
The oak door slammed against the interior wall with such force that the hinges wrenched from the frame. It collapsed onto the carpeted floor with a heavy thud.
Hadrian's blue gaze snapped sharply toward Cassian's burning garnet eyes. For the first time that day, a flash of genuine tension crossed Hadrian's quiet features.
Cassian looked nothing like the jovial man who had left the manor that morning. Beneath his skin, his pulse throbbed with a visible heat.
The deep red of his rage darkened his golden brown complexion, and his mere presence seemed to warp the air in the room.
