Reiner didn't answer right away. His shoulders tightened, breath caught in his chest, as though the entire room had shrunk just to force him into facing the truth Glen had dropped on him. He lowered his head, not out of respect, but because his thoughts had fallen into a place words couldn't reach.
Kael Lenoch's image rose unbidden in his mind: the Alpha of Ael'Vurin, cold, bound to wild laws that never bent to any empire. Reiner knew Kael was unpredictable, but even so, he had never imagined Kael would openly slaughter a noble. And in such a brutal way, a deed that shattered the line between honor and madness.
Reiner exhaled slowly, hoping the unease would fade.
"That's … not something I can easily grasp," he murmured, his voice barely audible.
