After the Ember Festival, the Twelve are yet to plunge into another Valemnian celebration: The Autumn Ball.
With no idea what the upcoming event is all about, Valeriana Kerrigan finds herself caught in between preparations for the Ball, and matters...
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Once the words came out of Valeriana's mouth, the glove that Corvan had been holding in his hand slowly slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor.
The room became silent.
Val stared at the fallen glove lying on the floor. She crouched down to pick it, but didn't manage to because Corvan's voice spoke up in a cold menacing manner.
"Don't even dare!" he warned.
Valeriana froze at his words and somehow, she became afraid of even moving.
His cold mask was back on, that Valeriana knew.
The girl met his green eyes, only to see him glaring down at her. The look he was giving her made frightening chills run down her spine.
The situation reminded the fifth ranker of the incident back in Prèluresia; the time when Val asked Corvan to kindly leave the carriage so that she could talk to Zion and set some things clear. She remembered how he'd stormed off, fuming.
This was very déjà vu.
Hastily, Valeriana stood up from her crouching position. "I was just trying to—"
"I can pick it up by myself!" he bit back, and with one swift movement, Corvan bent down and grabbed the glove from the floor.
He turned his back on her, and walked towards his table.
Valeriana sighed once she saw this. "Corvan, I—"
"Take your leave," the first ranker said in a low voice that was loud enough for her to hear. "I shall accept your choice and look for another partner."
When silence followed, Corvan realized that he'd locked the door. Without a glance, he fished for the key in his tailcoat pocket and threw it in the general direction where the girl stood.
It almost hit Valeriana on her forehead but she ducked in time.
"Hey!" she yelled, "You almost hit me!"
"Aren't you going to leave?" Corvan asked, his back still turned towards her.
"No!" Valeriana folded her arms across her chest, "Not until we talk about this. I didn't —"
"There's nothing to talk about," he said angrily.
Corvan made his way back towards where the girl stood. He picked up the key he'd thrown and unlocked the door.
The first ranker held the door open for her, waiting for Valeriana to walk out.
Corvan did not meet her eye. He merely kept silent.
