Kai left the prince's study with a heavy mind.
The room still clung to him, like the scent of incense on his coat, or the faint echo of courtly manipulation humming in his ears. The prince had offered him a position. Not just a role, though. It would provide power, influence, and access.
But it would also bind him in chains.
Kai wasn't sure yet if they were golden or iron, but they would be chains nonetheless.
He stepped out into the hallway, eyes half-lidded in thought.
'It would make things easier. Getting closer to the crown meant getting closer to information. Maybe even to Firra. But being tethered to the royal family would mean scrutiny. Limitation. No shadows to hide in.'
He was still weighing it in his mind when a hand shot from the darkness of a small room and yanked him inside.
His instincts flared.
"Shade."
The world shifted. In a blink, dark tendrils of smoke wove over his arms, and spectral blades shimmered to life. His body twisted into a defensive crouch.
