"Friend…? You?!"
The man snapped. "You're going to put me in an early grave. I haven't slept well since the day I met you. I still regret inviting you to my thousandth birthday celebration. I don't know what possessed me that day. And where is 'she'?"
"'She' is playing with her friends."
This necklace artifact was Felicity's; Quinlan shouldn't have been able to activate it. Thus, the explanation was simple; Felicity initiated the call, then went to play with her friends.
It was a much more easily digestible answer than 'I enslaved your teenage daughter and as her supreme master, I own her entire existence, letting me use her personal artifacts with no trouble.'
The words spoken before this mysterious little exchange hit the two leaders like a hammer.
'Thousandth birthday celebration.'
Thorga's face drained of color. "Alexios… that Alexios?"
Serelis swallowed. "The human king… Alexios Valorian. He just celebrated his thousandth birthday this year."
