Aetherion Academia #1: Shadows of Rebirth
But escape it was.
He let me go. Slowly. His fingers lingering in a deliberate slide across my skin that felt like a brand, like a promise, like the opening move of a longer game.
"Ladies," he said, turning to Thalassa, Elara, Dahila, and Zephina - who had formed a phalanx behind me, black leather and house colors, a unified front of queens.
He gave them a nod that was polite but carried the unmistakable weight of a superior predator.