Sally's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline. "You STOLE their sacred stone?!"
Alex winced at Sally's shriek.
"Stole is a strong word," he said quickly. "We... negotiated... under... duress? With a dragon involved? It's complicated."
"YOU STOLE A SACRED STONE FROM LION PEOPLE AND NOW YOU WANT TO WALK BACK IN THERE AND ASK FOR A FAVOR?!" Sally's voice had reached a pitch that made several nearby dragons look over with interest.
"Kind of," Leo said, his voice carefully measured, "the Golden Stone was umm...taken...willingly. But I was already exiled before the stone. They can't exile me further."
"They could kill you," Sally pointed out.
"They've already tried," Leo said, and there was something in his voice—not pride, not bravado, just quiet certainty—that made Sally's mouth snap shut. " But failed. "
