Rowan realized, almost immediately, that it had only been in his head.
His leg shifted back into place just as a servant came rushing toward them, the interruption breaking through the moment before anything else could happen.
"Your Majesty…" the servant said as he dropped to his knees, his head bowed low.
Alaric pulled away as he had simply been interrupted mid-action, and his head snapped toward the servant, his expression darkening instantly. "How dare you?" he asked, his voice sharp and edged with irritation.
The servant trembled where he knelt, unable to even lift his head, while Rosalind took that brief moment to draw in a deep breath, her chest rising as she finally filled her lungs again after having been deprived of air.
"News, Your Majesty," the servant managed to say, his voice shaking.
Alaric's jaw tightened at once as he heard that, and the irritation in his expression did not ease. "What is it?" he asked, his tone low, though the impatience in it was clear.
