Avoidance helped settle the emotions. Considerably.

“It was a chef’s knife,” I said, holding my hands about a foot apart. “And a ver…”

“You are a Cadogan vampire, by blood and bone. You have fought for this House, a…”

“I stepped back, pivoted on a heel, and swivelled my hip for a side kick. It pro…”

“You're perfect- beautiful, intelligent, intractable in a kind of... attractive …”