"That's not true."
Ezra's eyes widened slightly.
"Blind loyalty? There's nothing blind about it."
His voice carried a sharp edge now.
"Prince Helios has done nothing but think about this kingdom. Not just the kingdom either. Everyone in it."
Ezra stepped closer to him.
"You know why I'm even here?"
His gaze hardened.
"Because Prince Helios brought me here from the streets, or maybe you have forgotten?"
He pointed vaguely toward the battlefield behind them.
"And before that?"
Ezra let out a short breath.
"He kept bringing me bread."
The memory rose clearly in his mind.
The alley.
The cold nights.
The wrapped loaf was placed on the same spot.
"And he got into trouble for it too."
Ezra had figured it out eventually.
Helios couldn't have just happened to pass by that alley over and over again.
The bread had always been clean.
Fresh.
Still warm sometimes.
Wrapped properly.
Someone had prepared it.
Someone who cared enough to make sure it reached him.
