I studied him through the haze of torchlight, every bit of frost-kissed nobility standing there in the dark, as if he belonged to the night itself. His words still lingered between us, soft and sharp like the echo of a blade drawn too close to skin.
"Why do you need my help?" I asked finally, my tone a mix of irritation and disbelief. Surely this wasn't the same man who'd nearly brought the court to its knees an hour ago. Surely not the same emperor who'd bled nobility and arrogance in equal measure.
His eyes didn't waver. "Because I admire your cruelty."
No mockery. No smirk. Just simple, unnerving sincerity.
It should've been an insult. It wasn't.
It felt like acknowledgment.
For a heartbeat, I didn't know whether to laugh or burn him alive.
