"You are Kamal," Gabriel said.
Kamal bowed. "Your Imperial Majesty."
His voice remained perfectly measured.
That alone told Arik he was uncomfortable.
Kamal had not survived court by serving one throne after another and learning to bend prettily with every change of wind. He had served one sovereign. One. Goliath.
Afterward, when the empire broke and Felix Canmore's shadow spread like poison through the ruins, Kamal had not sworn himself to the victor. He had disappeared beneath the surface of Wrohan instead, watching Felix from places where names became useless, shielding Amara and the remnants who still carried enough truth to be dangerous, and gathering information piece by piece with the grim patience of a man who believed return was not hope but delayed logistics.
And now Gabriel Lyon's attention made even him choose every breath carefully.
Gabriel studied him through the projection with bright, surgical interest.
"So," Gabriel said, "you are the man who served Goliath."
