Once upon a time, before she took up a solitary life and when she still hung around people, she'd been told her gaze could be disconcerting, that something about the way she locked onto someone challenged them on a primal level, leaving them with the twin urges of fight or flight. People who met her eyes when she was angry or upset wouldn't do so for long, finding a reason to look away. In extreme cases leaving the room for another. She'd never understood what they were talking about—until now. Holding the stranger's gaze took physical effort. It was like trying to stare down a tiger, knowing
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