Detecting any subtle emotion that lay beneath the surface of human speech was what Sethia excelled in, and as she listened to Paul, she knew with a profound certainty, that he was lying.
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"Blood cold as ice, but in the right hand she melts."
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The ringing in Sethia's ears had been a constant torment since childhood, an incessant drone that threatened to drown out the world. As a girl, she would clamp her hands over her ears, desperate for relief. But that small mercy was no longer an option.
"Chin up, shoulders back," her aunt's stern voice cut through the hall like a whip. "Uncertainty has no place in your bearing nor your voice. Let me catch you utilizing a blocker again, and there will be severe consequences."
Sethia swallowed hard, nodding obediently. She knew better than to defy Vasilisa Etheris. A year ago, perhaps she would have risked her aunt's wrath-sneaking sound dampeners into her ears or deliberately provoking her stubborn guardian. But her defiance had been flayed from her soul, strip by agonizing strip, each punishment leaving her more hollowed than the last.
As the craft ascended through the turbulent clouds, Sethia's thoughts churned. Which would fracture her mind first? The maddening ring that even now made her temples throb? Or the cold, unrelenting presence of the woman she was taught to call "aunt"?
But a third possibility slithered, uninvited, into her consciousness: the prospect of facing a certain Atreides, the boy whose pivotal role in her torment remained unspoken.
Sethia then knew that in less than 24 hours, she would be forced to confront it all. The ringing, the aunt, the boy. And this time, she feared her fragile resolve might finally shatter.
ｉｎ ｃｏｌｄ ｂｌｏｏｄ
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including...
Sethia Etheris , House Etheris
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heir of the frozen planet-"I'm listening."
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and
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Paul Atreides , House Atreides
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the one-"I know."
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other characters as described
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"Blood cold as ice, but in the right hand she melts."
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i do not own the original dune plot or take credit for it, just my respective original characters
