You think she notices the heat? Her heart screamed hot enough to melt a demon’s hands to dust. Right now, in this moment, she can hear [i]nothing[/i] but its howling.

How dare you. How [i]dare [/i]you?! 

It’s one thing to know you’re dealing with snake. To know that nothing they say is anything close to the truth, and nothing they say will ever be so solid that you could finally rip off their veil of decency. To know that everything you’ve ever known and loved means so little to them that they would burn it all rather than deny themselves anything. In a week, they will not even remember the ashes. That’s one thing. It’s another when they do it to your face. To someone you. You…

Her heart roars so loud, that all the world might be silence. And the only thing. The [i]only[/i] thing holding fast the floodgates of Essence, is the tiny, scared girl at her back. Standing too close to keep from being burned.

Han lets out a long, deep breath.

“We’ll have to get back to you on that.” A maelstrom held behind a thin wall of ice. She turns, away from the trap, and allows herself to be led away. “We’re [i]busy.”[/i]

Not yours. Lotus chose [i]her.[/i] And didn’t that bring a little smile to her face? It also brought, behind Lotus’ back, a most expressive gesture for her host. Hopefully, it wasn’t too [i]parokeyl[/i] for the great Red Wolf to understand.