Elian's brow furrowed, but he didn't interrupt. Izan's chest heaved with barely contained fury.
His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were wild with anger, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his neck stood out.
Elian had never seen him like this before, never so raw, never so close to the edge of breaking. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and the tension radiating from him was palpable.
"I found out," Izan began, his voice low and shaking, barely held together. "Cedric has been supplying children, innocent boys and girls, to Lucian, my stepbrother. And the empress... she's knew about it. She's paid him to make it happen."
Elian's heart froze. He had known Cedric was ruthless, had even experienced it firsthand when he was still a courtesan, but this... this was unimaginable. "Children?" he whispered, his voice barely audible as the horror sank in. "How young?"
