"Alright," Chris said at last, voice calmer. "You want attention? Earn it."
Eryx's entire body went still in a way that suggested he'd been trained to sit through court lectures, but his eyes lit with the same hungry brightness anyway. "How."
Chris looked at him for a long moment, then leaned back, letting the vibration of the train soothe the leftover adrenaline in his bones. Outside the tinted window, Belvare's outskirts blurred into spring countryside and guarded checkpoints, a world that looked peaceful only because it wasn't brave enough to move too loudly.
"You're twelve," Chris said. "So I'm going to do this in a way your tutors will hate and your security detail will survive."
Eryx nodded solemnly, as if being hated by tutors was a badge.
Chris lifted a finger. "Lesson one: you ask one question at a time."
Eryx opened his mouth.
Chris lifted a second finger. "And you wait for the answer."
