"What did you just say?" Vikramaditya rises from his chair slowly, eyes dark, almost black. The air around him thickens and shadows pool at his feet like they are drawn to him.

Vibhiraj, Ugrasena, Dev, and Anuha shrink back. They can feel the heat rising off his skin, the anger rolling off him in waves. His stare is dark enough to burn.

"We... we're sorry, Maharaja. We didn't see this coming," Dev stumbles over the words like they are stones in his throat.

But Vikramaditya isn't listening. His eyes, full of black rage, have already decided their fate. "You think I put you there just to watch? To stand around while my wife nearly gets killed?" The fist comes down splitting the desk in two.

"M-Maharaja... the security was tight, we—we had everything covered but... the attack just came out of nowhere and blindsided us," Anuha stammers, eyes wide like he is standing on the edge of a cliff, unsure if he'd fall or be pushed.