Adrian watched Lord Faolan walk away, feeling the tension between them like a thick, unspoken challenge. He could feel Faolan's mistrust simmering beneath the surface, but it didn't bother him—not in the way the older man likely intended.
Faolan's words were predictable, his hostility more of a minor annoyance than a real concern. Adrian had encountered men like him before: those who were resistant to change, threatened by anyone who disrupted the established order.
No, Faolan wasn't the problem.
Adrian's mind was elsewhere—focused on the greater threat that was incolved in the destruction of his kingdom, Meridia: the Shadow Court. They were still out there, plotting in the shadows, waiting for their moment to strike.
And yet, here he was, sitting in council meetings and offering advice on tax payments and resource distribution, when he needed to be gathering intelligence.
He hadn't forgotten his mission.
