Open the Cell
The guard froze.
"Your Majesty…?"
A flicker of movement brought Leon's gaze sideways, the barest tilt letting firelight pool in his golden eyes. That light held the man fast, not through anger but presence alone. No shout came, no gesture threatening. Instead, stillness did the work, so complete it drained rebellion of any sense at all. The moment settled like dust after a slammed door - silent, unshakable.
He spoke again, steady on each word, like cold steel just touching skin. Open the gate now - he needed to get in.
A lump rose and fell in the guard's throat when he gulped. Quiet, shaky - a noise too thin for the silence around it. Fingers jumped by his hips, jumpy as if chasing some urge but lost where to go. Mouth opened - then shut - like speech had started running but tripped before leaving.
A beat.
Two.
Leon didn't blink.
He seemed cold on the surface. Yet beneath it, movement began.
