Lady Serene Blackthorn is a poised human woman with the deliberate movements of someone accustomed to rooms falling silent when she enters. Her skin is pale olive, smooth across the cheeks but marked by a fine lattice of old thorn scars along her left collarbone. Her black hair has a blue sheen in lamplight and is worn in a severe braid threaded with dried blackthorn blossoms. Her eyes are smoky gray, though one catches flecks of warm amber when she is angry. She is elegant rather than fragile, with long hands, a straight back, and a measured stride that never seems to hurry. The unexpected detail is her smile, broad and genuine, revealing a small chip in one front tooth and making her look briefly like a mischievous stable girl instead of a dangerous aristocrat.