Victor's gaze narrowed, as the silence between them thickened. He didn't have to say it aloud, the threat was clear in the tension of his jaw and the coldness in his eyes.
"Careful," Nessa said, her voice laced with casual amusement, her expression almost playful despite the intensity of the moment. "You're not the man you used to be, Victor. Not as strong, and not nearly as feared."
Victor's gaze remained unyielding, and his voice disturbingly calm, as if every word was weighed with intent.
"Weaker or not," he said, each syllable carefully chosen, "Feared or not, Nessa, I can still end your life just as easily as I snap my fingers."
Without missing a beat, he brought his hand up from his side and snapped his fingers. The sharp sound of it echoed in the tense silence, like a sudden crack of thunder before a storm.
His words landed like a challenge, sharp and unmistakable, It was a moment where both were silently testing the limits of one another.
