Dominic raised one palm.
They went still.
Grace grasped the situation instantly. They were trained to disarm soldiers. They could fracture limbs. They could evacuate a room in ten seconds. But they lacked the knowledge to approach a mourning child wielding something lethal.
Dominic took a stride forward.
Sophie aimed the blade at him with both hands.
“Don’t come near me!”
Her voice fractured on the final syllable.
That tremor was the key.
Everyone else sensed a threat. Grace sensed devastation.
She had recognized that sound before, years ago, in her younger brother’s voice when social workers arrived to tear them apart after their mother’s passing. Leo had fought, bitten, screamed, and shattered a lamp against the wall. Grown-ups labeled him aggressive. Grace knew better.
A child did not transform into a hurricane without a reason.
