He did not need an answer, not truly.
A tamed beast stood apart from its master, bound by contract and habit, sleeping in stables, feeding from troughs, living and dying like any other creature of flesh and bone.
A summoned beast was different.
It did not belong to the earth in the same way. It belonged to the mindscape of its host, tethered by spirit rather than rope, resurrecting even after death so long as its master's ether energy reserves endured. And this lion was drinking from Kiara like a spring.
The confirmation tightened something in his chest.
Kiara crossed one leg over the other and leaned back, the picture of ease.
"What does it matter, Lord Cross?" she replied lightly. "Will the situation change if I am?"
Xander frowned faintly. Her composure irritated him more than open defiance would have.
