The king's smirk grew as he heard the reluctant admittance. "Interesting."
He reclined further, clearly savoring the feeling of control. For the first time in this entire exchange, he had Quinlan exactly where he wanted him. "You're a slippery one, Quinlan Elysiar. But I'm no fool. We both want something from the other, but I have the upper hand."
His smile widened, glinting with victory. "Add my legendary artifact to the deal. The [Veil of Aetherius]. You have it, don't you?"
For the first time that evening, Quinlan's expression went completely unreadable.
In the throne room, the Aegis officers stood with rapidly beating hearts. They felt greatly distressed about the call that had been going on up until now, but finally, things were going as they should.
Alexios was relishing the moment, that slow, swelling satisfaction of finally winning against the ever-composed rude bastard on the other end of the line.
He had no idea.
Far away, two faces were beginning to shift.
