He turned his head, fixing Kayla with a look of pure, bored amusement. "Wow, Kayla. 'Pathetic?' 'Pet?' That's strong language," he said, his voice dangerously smooth. "Careful. If I'm just a 'pet,' you might want to ask yourself why a Tier 1 Warlady abandoned the frontlines just to come running the second she heard I was in trouble." He said.
'Yeah. I forgot about that. Why is she really here?' he thought, having only ever known her cold contempt.
Marceline and Ravena had pointed it out earlier, insisting she left the frontlines the moment she heard he was in the Council's custody, but he'd dismissed it. He'd assumed Ysmeine had forced her into it.
But seeing her here, even arguing against his consort plan... she was invested. Marceline's words echoed in his mind—that deep down, Kayla didn't hate him and would do anything to protect him. Was that why she was here? Not just to sneer, but because she genuinely cared?
