The air in the chamber pressed down on me like a crushing tide. My lungs burned as I gasped for breath, my arms trembling under the strain of the Emperor's immense aura. Sweat dripped down my face, blurring my vision, but I forced myself to look up.
"Milo," Emperor Charles said again, his golden eyes boring into mine with an intensity that seemed to pierce through my very soul. "Did you meet my dragon?"
His tone was calm, almost conversational, but the weight behind it was undeniable. My chest heaved as I tried to center myself, to think clearly despite the oppressive force around me. Denial would be futile; he wouldn't ask if he didn't already know the answer.
"Yes," I rasped, my voice strained but steady. "I did."
A flicker of something crossed the Emperor's face—satisfaction, perhaps—but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"And yet you live," he said, stepping closer. "Intriguing."
